When was rover thomas born

We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons. Rover Thomas , Kukatja-Wangkajunga artist, was born in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia and worked as a stockman and fencer before losing his employment upon the introduction of equal pay for indigenous workers in He told his uncle Paddy Juminji the details of the images he had dreamed, and Juminji painted them onto boards to be carried on the shoulders of participants in the ceremony.

In Thomas began painting the Kurirr Kurirr himself. He soon moved on to views of his ancestral lands and depictions of events in ancient and modern history, such as Cyclone Tracy and the Bedford Downs Massacre. Gulgoodji owl Rover Thomas Two men dreaming Rover Thomas circa Ngarin Janu Country Rover Thomas circa Crossroads Rover Thomas Undubhill Rover Thomas Country called Red Butte Rover Thomas Read more about our cookie policy Accept and close the cookie policy.

Life dates As a pioneer of the painting movement that developed in the eastern Kimberley in the s, Rover Thomas played a seminal role in the history of modern Aboriginal art and is regarded as one of Australia's leading painters of the 20th century. His parents were Kukatja and Wangkajunga language speakers, and as a young lad he joined the diaspora of western desert peoples. Thomas was taken along the Stock Route, north to the Kimberley to work as a stockman and fencer.

He was ritually initiated in the eastern Kimberley and worked on a number of cattle ranches in the region. In the early s Aboriginal workers on the pastoral stations across the Kimberley were summarily sacked and went to live in camps adjacent to white townships, precipitating dislocation and the disintegration of cultural practices.