Old Papunya Men & other works

8 AM 3921/06
Johnny Warrungkula Tjupurrula Water Dreaming Kalipinpa 1997
Acrylic on linen 510 x 740mm $3670
Painted in 1997, Papunya

This painting depicts Johnny Warrangkula’s water dreaming at Kalipinpa. The painting tells the story of an
important rain making ceremony to invoke the elements of a storm. The circles are waterholes and the curving
lines behind the dotting signify body paint used during ceremonies. Kalipinpa water dreaming is a powerful storm
creating the lightning, thunderclouds, rain and hail and sending its deluge to rejuvenate the earth, filling rockholes,
claypans and creeks. It has the power to create new life and growth upon the land.

Johnny Warrangkula Tjupurrula c 1925 – Feb 2001. Johnny was born at Minjilpirri, north west of Ilpili and south
of Lake Mackay. He grew up in this country, never attending European school. Vivien Johnson describes in
‘Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert’, that Johnny’s first contact with whites when he was a young boy
frightened him so much he hid in the trees. They had come by plane and Johnny’s people thought it was a
‘Mamu’ or devil. The family moved east to Hermansburg mission (near Alice Springs), where Johnny worked as a
labourer constructing the airstrip and many other projects. Johnny passed through the ceremonies for manhood
during his stay at Hermansburg. He was living at Haasts Bluff when most of the community was moved to the new
settlement of Papunya in 1960. When he had retired from the construction programs he started working with the
Papunya Council. In 1954 he was chosen as an Aboriginal representative to meet the Queen alongside Nosepeg
Tjupurrula. When Geoffrey Bardon, arrived in 1970, Johnny and his friend soon let the young art teacher know
their interest in painting traditional western desert iconography. Johnny W rapidly emerged as a key artist with
his distinct style of overdotting, often several layers, creating effects of what Geoffrey Bardon termed the
‘tremulous illusion’. He remained a major force in the 80’s although his output did come to a halt at one stage in
his painting career. According to Geoffrey Bardon, Johnny was a ‘happy expressive man with a slight stutter and
tremor’. Johnny knew his paintings could fetch money and he was willing to paint on anything, any size, shape or
length. He painted with this same enthusiasm in later years even with his eyesight impaired by cataracts. Johnny
refused to have his eyes operated upon as he was convinced that the doctors would swap them for dingo eyes.
Johnny’s earlier work from the 70’s, of ‘Kalipinpa Water Deaming’originally sold at Sotherby’s, setting a world
auction record for an aboriginal art work for $210,000 in 1997. Three years later in 2000 the same painting set
another record in its resale at Sotherby’s for $486,500.
Johnny’s work often depicted the water dreaming stories as well as Yam, fire and Egret from around Nyilppi and
Nyalpilala – his fathers dreaming. Johnny was of the Loritja language group and in his later years lived between
Alice Springs and Papunya with his wife, Gladys Napanangka who also painted. He had two daughters from a
previous marriage and two sons and six daughters from his marriage to Gladys. Collections: Holmes a Court,
Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of SA, WA, NT, National Museum of Australia, Flinders University art
Museum, Alice Springs Law Courts and many more.