Thomas Tjapaltjarri is a painter of international acclaim. He flaunts a simple style; showcasing the traditional painterly dot technique, overlayed ochres and reds. However, his simplistic visual vocabulary does not detract from the depth and complexity in the meanings of his work.
Tjapaltjarri was born into one of the last nomadic Indigenous mobs, commonly referred to as 'The Last Nomads'. In 1984 His family group left the desert to return to their estranged kinsmen, who had decided to leave the desert lands 20 years earlier. With his family, Tjapaltjarri settled in the lightly populated areas of Kiwirrkura.
Despite experiencing no contact with Western society prior to 1984, he transitioned easily. Tjapaltjarri and his brother expressed interest in the painting movement that was happening around them, and established their names as artists painting the Tingari stories of their ancestral country.