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This body of work emerged from my return to my bush property following the recent Victorian fires. Rather than depicting the visible aftermath of fire, I found myself drawn to something less obvious – the feeling that the land had changed in ways that were difficult to articulate…… Continue reading
Continue readingAcrylic on Linen
122 x 183 cm
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153 x 183 cm
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Acrylic on Linen
183 x 243 cm
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Acrylic on Linen
122 x 91 cm
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Acrylic on Linen
152 x 91 cm
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Acrylic on Canvas
83 x 63 cm Framed
A$7,500 Buy NowBorn circa 1930s
Died 2017
Yannima Tommy Watson (c.1935–2017) was one of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary Aboriginal artists and a senior Pitjantjatjara lawman. Born at Anamarapiti, west of Irrunytju (Wingellina) near the borders of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, he spent his early life living traditionally on Country, travelling between waterholes with his family and learning the cultural knowledge, survival skills and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) stories passed down through generations.
During the 1950s, prolonged drought and government assimilation policies forced many Western Desert families, including Watson’s, to leave their homelands for settlements such as Warburton, Ernabella and Papunya. Like many others, he later returned to his ancestral Country as Aboriginal communities re-established themselves across the Western Desert.
A respected cultural leader, Watson balanced his responsibilities as a senior lawman with a remarkable artistic career. He was a founding artist of the Irrunytju Art Centre in 2001 and became internationally recognised for his bold, expressive paintings that celebrate the landscapes and sacred stories of his mother’s and grandfather’s Country. His works depict important ancestral journeys, ceremonial sites and the spiritual presence embedded within the desert, using vibrant fields of colour and energetic mark-making to evoke the power and rhythm of the land.
Among the stories represented in his paintings are the Great Flood Dreaming and other significant narratives connected to Pitjantjatjara history, law and Country. While deeply rooted in traditional knowledge, his highly abstract style established him as one of the most influential colourists in contemporary Aboriginal art.
Before becoming a full-time artist, Watson worked as a stockman and earned a reputation as an exceptional horseman. Throughout his life he continued to fulfil his ceremonial obligations, travelling extensively across Pitjantjatjara lands while dividing his time between Warakurna and Alice Springs.
Watson’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout Australia and internationally and is held in the country’s leading public collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of South Australia and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. In 2005 he was commissioned to create a major permanent installation for the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, where his artwork Wipu Rockhole was reproduced on stainless steel panels as part of the museum’s architecture.
Today, Yannima Tommy Watson is regarded as one of the defining figures of contemporary Aboriginal art, celebrated for paintings that combine extraordinary visual intensity with profound cultural significance.
EXHIBITIONS
2010 Irrunytju Artists, Agathon Galleries, Sydney
2009-2010 Emerging Elders – honouring senior Indigenous artists , National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2009 Kutu Wara (The Last One), Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries Sydney
2009 Nganmapa Ngura (My Country) Irrunytju Artists, Linton and Kay Fine Art, Perth
2009 New Works: South Western Desert Art of Australia, Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2009 Nganampa Tjukurpa: South Western Desert Art of Australia’, Agathon Galleries Sydney
2009 Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2008 Agathon Galleries Sydney, Melbourne
2008 Lismore Gallery
2008 2003, 2002 Selected for Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
2007 Musee du Quai Branly, Paris (permanent exhibition)
2007 One Sun, One Moon, Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW
2007 Tommy Watson, Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries, NSW
2007 Senior Irrunytju Artists, Agathon Galleries, VIC
2007 Irrunytju Fundraiser Exhibition Agathon Galleries, NSW
2006 Tommy Watson, Solo Exhibition, Agathon Galleries, VIC
2006 Landmarks, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC
2006 Musée du Quai Branly Paris, France
2005 Tommy Watson, Agathon Solo Exhibition, Sydney NSW
2005 Cairns Regional Art Gallery, QLD
2005 Wollongong City Art Gallery, NSW
2005 Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Gallery, VIC
2005 Ngayuku Ngura (My Country), Vivien Anderson Gallery, VIC
2005 Senior Irrunytju Men, Aboriginal and Pacific Gallery, NSW
2004 Colour Power: Aboriginal Art post 1984, National Gallery of Victoria, VIC
2004 NATSIAA – Celebrating 20 Years, National Archives of Australia, ACT
2004 Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, SA
2002/2003/2008 Finalist in Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards
COLLECTIONS
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
South Australian Art Gallery, Adelaide
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Elizabeth and Colin Laverty, Sydney
Patrick Corrigan, Sydney
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