Name

Tom Djumburpur

Culture

Aboriginal Australian

Gender

Male

Birth date

1920

Birth place

Djilipin, Northern Territory, Australia View on map Close map

Death date

2006

Death Place

Australia View on map Close map

Occupations

Artist (installation) | Artist (painter) | Carver | Printmaker | Sculptor

Summary

Worked: Australia (NT). Etchings

NGA IRN

24484

Context

Australia

Biography

Tom Djumburpur

Tom Djumburpur was born in the bush in his own country, Djilpin, south-west of Ramingining at the top of Goyder River. After the death of his parents in the early 1930s Djumburpur went to live with an uncle nearby, and continued living a traditional lifestyle away from the local mission. He was initiated at Murrwangi.

He was taught to paint by his second father, Charlie Wagirr. His first exhibition was in Melbourne in 1983, which he visited for the first time during this show. The then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Clyde Holding, bought several of his pieces for his private collection. In 1987 his work was shown in exhibitions in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Djumburpur was also one of the artists to contribute several bone coffins to the Aboriginal Memorial installation, made up of 200 burial poles symbolising 200 years of white occupation, which was part of the 1988 Biennale of Sydney. This installation is now on permanent display in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.

Djumburpur paints in two distinct styles: one tends towards abstract or minimalist renderings on bark, using traditional body designs to depict the Wagilag Sisters story, an important Aboriginal creation myth. The other style is of monumental creatures enforcing their power and importance through their size and movement in the works. His trademark is his use of silver white clay and strong graceful strokes. His work is often set against fields of rarrk (crosshatching) and geometric shapes, sacred rocks or circular motifs representing waterholes. His barks are often shaped like a shield.

In 1997 Djumburpur was one of the artists who participated in a series of workshops in Ramingining, held by printmaker Theo Tremblay, during which they produced an important series of prints, ‘The Raminging Print Suite’, based on the Wagilag Sisters creation story, one of the major cration myths of this region. This workshop represents a unique collaboration by a group of celebrated Aboriginal artists.

Biography courtesy of The Australian Art Print Network, 2001.
© Australianprints

Affiliation

Wuduminy people

Sub-region

Central Arnhem Land

Specific location

Ramingining

Artist’s country

Djilpin

Language

Yolgnu

Sub-section

Wudamin, Djinba