Tiger Papaltja

Though he began painting at the late age of 85, Tiger Palpatja had much energy and experience to convey to the world. His colourful, lively compositions immediately attracted acclaim from the art world and saw him included as a finalist in national art awards and in exhibitions across the country, as well as overseas. His blood reds, delicate pinks, lilacs and molten yellows give his work a lovely gentleness but encircled and held within the strong lines of his writhing serpentine forms. It reflects the austere power of his red desert country that is threaded through with sudden oases of breathtaking beauty.  The Wanampi water snake (the main focus of his work,) created this country and is believed to be the ancestor of the Pitjantjatjara people. The non-poisonous snake lives in the Piltati waterholes, found in the lower hills of the Mann Ranges, South Australia, close to where Tiger was born and where he spent his early years, living a traditional nomadic life with his family.