Mick Gill Tjakamarra

Mick Gill was a Senior Law man of high ritual status. He painted his land and culture with a serious and calm presence, conferring with his fellow artists to ‘tell the stories right’. In 1986, three of his paintings were included in the groundbreaking exhibition, Art from The Great Sandy Desert, (Art Gallery of Western Australia), thereby bringing his name into the public domain. His subjects were the major ancestral beings of the Kukutja people. They are the Tjukurrpa or stories of the Dreamtime, such as the travels of the Tingari men, containing topographical details and knowledge of the land, plants and animals, and Wanayarra, the great snake who carried the water dreaming across the land to the soak holes, rock holes and clay pans, allowing the nomadic tribes to survive in this arid, desert country. This knowledge is passed along the generations through restricted men’s ceremonies. As the outstations communities were settled during the 1980’s, Balgo Hills (originally a catholic mission for displaced tribes' people) became a central point within the vast Southeastern Kimberly area. Inspired by the Papunya Tula painting movement, the Warlayirti Arts Centre was eventually established there (1987). It is still renowned for its vibrant, contemporary indigenous art. Though not prolific, Mick Gill remains one of the original masters, using acrylic paint for the first time and establishing the distinctively bold Balgo style. His tightly dotted lines weaving sinuously across a flat, resonant surface while vivid geometric patterns reflect significant features of his Country. Mick Gill’s works featured in landmark exhibitions that brought the little-known land and culture of the Australia’s interior to the world. Included in shows in London, Paris and Germany, he is represented in Australia’s national galleries and in international collections, public and private. © Adrian Newstead