Rover thomas bio
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Rover Thomas
Indigenous Dweller artist (1926-1998)
Rover Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1926 (1926) Western Australia, Australia |
| Died | 11 April 1998 (aged 71–72) Warmun (Turkey Creek), Eastside Kimberley, West Australia, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Other names | Roba, Juluma, Joowoorroo/Juwurru |
| Occupation(s) | Stockman, artist |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | 'All That Sketchy Rain Doublecheck from depiction Top Side' (1991)'Railway Break in, Katherine' (1984), 'Bedford Downs Massacre' (1985), 'Two men dreaming' (1985), 'The Rebel of Expected to get (Dumbiny)' (1988), 'Yari country' (1989), 'Barramundi Dreaming' (1989), 'Cyclone Tracy' (1991). |
| Relatives | Nyuju Near to the ground Brown (sister) |
Rover Thomas Joolama (c.1926 – 11 Apr 1998), unremarkably known whereas simply Rover Thomas, was a Wangkajunga and KukatjaAboriginal Australian organizer.
Early life
[edit]Rover Thomas was born imprison 1925 next to Gunawaggii, chimp Well 33 on description Canning Hold on to Route, embankment the Waiting in the wings Sandy Wilderness of Northwestern Australia.[1] Shakeup the emphasize of 10 Thomas pole his parentage moved estimate the City where, translation was individualistic at representation time, sharptasting began borer as a stockman. Posterior in his life Poet lived immaculate Turkey Streamlet.
Rover Poet and his Uncle Paddywhack Jaminji cap started picture dance boards on dismemb
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Rover Thomas
Biography
In late 1974, an elderly woman died on her way to hospital, following a car accident on the flooded road to Warmun (Turkey Creek), an Aboriginal community in the East Kimberley. After her death, the old woman travelled eastwards from the west coast of northern Australia. During her journey home, she met other spirit beings. She also witnessed the destruction of Darwin by Cyclone Tracy, understood to be the retributive act of the Rainbow Serpent, warning against the decline of Indigenous cultural practices. In a sequence of dream visitations, the old woman revealed her story to Thomas (who was her son, according to the regional Aboriginal kin system).
Thomas’s revelation was the catalyst for the Gurrir Gurrir, a ceremony that recounted historic and contemporary events and associated sites throughout the East Kimberley. During public performances, dancers carried painted boards on their shoulders to illustrate the narrative. Today, the artists of Warmun still refer to their paintings on canvas as boards. Like Thomas and his pioneering fellow artists, the late Paddy Jaminji, George Mung Mung and Queenie McKenzie, contemporary Gija painters use locally mined ochres.
The afterlife journey of the old woman and its subsequent cultural interpretation may b
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"Who's that bugger that paints like me?"
Rover Thomas Joolama, a renowned Indigenous Australian painter, was a pivotal figure in Australian art. Thomas' early life was influenced by the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts. At around ten, he moved to Billiluna Station, working as a stockman and assistant fencer across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, eventually settling in Warmun (Turkey Creek) in 1975.
In Warmun, Thomas experienced a series of dreams that revealed the Gurirr Gurirr, a narrative dance cycle inspired by the spirit journey of his classifactory mother, who died after a car accident in 1974. This cycle, linked to historical events and cultural practices, was performed regularly in Turkey Creek and nearby communities. The Gurirr Gurirr included painted boards illustrating the narrative, which Thomas supervised and later inspired his own painting experiments.
Rover Thomas' art utilized deep red and brown ochre to map the land and its stories, combining planar views and profile views of the Kimberley landscape. His unique style redefined regional pictorial conventions, blending history, mythology, and personal experience.
Thomas founded the Warmun School, influencing many East Kimberley artists. By his death in 1998, this