Acrylic
on canvas
150 x 75 cm
Fred has painted some of his country, which is far to the south of Balgo, in
the Great Sandy Desert. The country here is called Tireewala, and is a place
of abundant water, with a series of springs and soakwaters. The circles throughout
the painting shows the different water sources, and after the rainy season the
creeks are often running and drain into small lakes and claypans which also fill
with water.
PROVENANCE
Warlayirti Art, Balgo Hill, Catalogue Number 1274/02
Fred was born into a traditional lifestyle in the Warlpiri country that straddles
the Northern Territory and Western Australian border. His first experience of
white men was when he saw them droving cattle using camels, travelling through
to Alice Springs. When he was young, he and his companions were herded onto a
truck to be taken forcibly to an Aboriginal settlement in Alice Springs. He was
able to escape with two companions when the truck made its stop for water.
Fred spent some time at the old Balgo Mission as a young man before taking up
casual work as a stockman and station cook around the stations of the eastern
Kimberley, particularly Flora Valley and Gordon Downs Station (Ringer Soak).
REPRESENTED
Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA
Laverty Collection
Kluge Ruhe Collection, USA
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