Tjukupati James 1936-2022

Tjukupati James (1936 - 2022) was an Pitjantjatjara woman born in Alpi: a remote Aboriginal community South of Docker River in the Northern Territory of Australia. Her childhood was traditional and nomadic, immersed in the Country that would later become the rich subject of her sinuous painted compositions.

Profoundly connected to her landscape from early childhood, James spent much of her youth in the shadows of the striking Petermann ranges, swimming in waterholes, scrambling over boulders and sitting under trees.  As a young child, her father would take her to the ‘neighbouring’ town of Ernabella in the Far North West of South Australia, to sell dingo skins together.

Like many women of her generation,  James only turned to painting in acrylics on canvas in her autumn years - five years prior to her death.  Her adaption of the vernacular of desert painting in a distinctive way sed to express her knowledge of the landscape, and the ancient stories of its creation,  is suffused with ancestral history and inherited tradition.  The effect is at once intimate and arresting, lyrical and intense. 

A recurrent subject is the significant Western Desert ‘dreamtime’ story, Kungka Kutjara (two women). It tells of to two ancestral sisters travelling through the artist’s Country. In their wanderings, they forged a visible record of their travels across the land, creating landmarks such as rock holes and mountain ranges in their wake.  With commanding fluidity, and using soft, often jewel-like tones, James captures the essence this landscape with an elegant flair. 

The artist’s work has been featured extensively in solo and group exhibitions across Australia, North America, continental Europe and the UK. In 2021, Tjukupati James was selected as a finalist for the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA).