THOMAS TJAPALTJARRI (TAMLIK) - Tingari

Thomas Tjapaltjarri known by his traditional name, Tamlik was one of the most remarkable figures in contemporary Aboriginal art, and his story was unlike almost any other.

In 1984, Thomas and eight family members walked out of the Gibson Desert having lived an entirely traditional hunter-gatherer life, completely separate from modern Australia. The press called them the "Pintupi Nine" or "The Last Nomads" — though as Thomas's family were quick to point out, they were never lost. They had simply been overlooked when other Pintupi communities were relocated away from missile testing in the Western Desert area.

The group consisted of two mothers, Nanyanu and Papalanyanu, four brothers;  Warlimpirrnga, Walala, Tamlik (Thomas) and Yari Yari and three sisters, Yardi, Yikultji and Tjakaria. Sadly, their father had already passed away.

Within a few years of emerging from the desert, Thomas, along with several of his siblings, began to paint. His works centred on the Tingari: a sacred cycle of creation stories belonging to Pintupi men, describing the journeys of ancestral beings across the desert in the Tjukurpa (Dreamtime). Using a traditional dot technique and spare geometric forms, Thomas created paintings of quiet power: bold, structured, and deeply layered in meaning. Much of that meaning belonged to the initiated and was not for outsiders to know and that mystery was part of what made his work so compelling.

Thomas passed away in 2024. His paintings have been exhibited locally and internationally and are held in private and public collections around the world. The works we hold at Altyerre were purchased directly from Thomas in the early 2000s and each comes with a certificate of authenticity from Altyerre Aboriginal Art.