Tommy Watson

Yannima Tommy Watson is a senior Pitjantjatjara artist who was born circa 1930s, some 44km west of the tiny isolated community of Irrunytju in Australia’s central western desert.

He began painting in 2002 following the establishment of the community arts centre at Irrunytju in 2001, of which Watson was a founding member and has since then sprung to prominence both nationally and internationally.

In this harsh and ancient country, through the guidance of his father, Watson gained a deep understanding of his physical environment and its relationship with the ancestral stories, collectively known as Tjukurrpa which have come to form the central element of his paintings.His artworks fetch high prices and are highly sought after.

“My grandfather’s country, grandmother’s country. When they were alive, they would take me around the country, when I was a kid. That Dreamtime country. That’s why we look after the country, go out whenever we can, see if the rock-holes are good.”

I want to paint these stories so that others can learn and understand about our culture and country.

Strong vibrant colours such as oranges, burgundy, reds, ivory, blue, pinks (and more recently highlights of green) create unfettered, sumptuous and complex compositions that symbolically represent the stories embedded in his country. The large shimmering dots that surge in waves across the canvas enable one to view the landscape as a topography shaped by its cultural importance.

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Bibliography:

John McDonald (2005-11-24). "The Australian Way - December - Art" (pdf). Qantas. http://www.unc.edu/home/owen/downloads/QANTAS%201205.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-21. "BORN C1930-32. WARAKURNA, WA. Since 2002 Watson has emerged as arguably the outstanding painter of the Western Desert" page 56
Agathon Galleries" (pdf). Archived from the original on 2007-09-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20070914202626/http://www.agathon.com.au/agathon/artistsbio/artist_bio.php?id=31. Retrieved 2007-11-21. "Born: c1935 at Anamarapiti"
McCulloch, Alan; Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch Childs (2006). The new McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. Fitzroy, VIC: Aus Art Editions in association with The Miegunyah Press. p. 179. ISBN 052285317X.
Claire Armstrong, ed (2006). Australian Indigenous Art Commission: Musee du quai Branly. Eleonora Triguboff, Art & Australia, and Australia Council for the Arts. ISBN 0646460455.
Guiding lights: The year in visual arts The Sydney Morning Herald

Collections:

Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
South Australian Art Gallery, Adelaide
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Elizabeth and Colin Laverty, Sydney
Patrick Corrigan, Sydney

Exhibitions:

2010 Irrunytju Artists, Agathon Galleries, Sydney
2009-2010 Emerging Elders – honouring senior Indigenous artists , National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2009 Kutu Wara (The Last One), Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries Sydney
2009 Nganmapa Ngura (My Country) Irrunytju Artists, Linton and Kay Fine Art, Perth
2009 New Works: South Western Desert Art of Australia, Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2009 Nganampa Tjukurpa: South Western Desert Art of Australia’, Agathon Galleries Sydney
2009 Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2008 Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2008 Lismore Gallery
2008 2003, 2002 Selected for Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
2007 Musee du Quai Branly, Paris (permanent exhibition)
2007 One Sun, One Moon, Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW
2007 Tommy Watson, Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries, NSW
2007 Senior Irrunytju Artists, Agathon Galleries, VIC
2007 Irrunytju Fundraiser Exhibition Agathon Galleries, NSW
2006 Tommy Watson, Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries, VIC
2006 Landmarks, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC
2006 Musée du Quai Branly Paris, France
2005 Tommy Watson, Agathon Solo Exhibition, Sydney NSW
2005 Cairns Regional Art Gallery, QLD
2005 Wollongong City Art Gallery, NSW
2005 Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Gallery, VIC
2005 Ngayuku Ngura (My Country), Vivien Anderson Gallery, VIC
2005 Senior Irrunytju Men, Aboriginal and Pacific Gallery, NSW
2004 Colour Power: Aboriginal Art post 1984, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC
2004 NATSIAA – Celebrating 20 Years, National Archives of Australia, ACT
2004 Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, SA
2002/2003/2008 Finalist in Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards