Artist: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri
Title: Rockholes near the Olgas
Size: 240cm x 183cm
Date: 2008
Language Group: Pitjantjatjara
Description: Bill Whiskey’s work centres around the theme of the cockatoo dreaming, a story about how certain landforms resulted from a battle between the white cockatoo, a jealous crow and the witness eagle who helps the cockatoo. The fight leaves large holes in the country and the hill that overlooks the brilliant white rock, is the eagle that looks over the cockatoo. White dots in Bill Whiskey’s painting represent the cockatoo’s feathers. The concentric circles depict the holes which the birds made or fresh water rockholes depended on by Tjapaltjarri’s family
Biography of Artist: Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri was born in the 1920’s in Pirupa Akla country just 130kms south of the Olga’s. Having lost most of his family as a young man he moved to Haasts Bluff and worked on the Lutheran mission where he met his wife Colleen Nampitjinpa. Both he and his wife were known as “ngangkari” or traditional healers and people would travel great distances to be healed by them. The name Whiskey evolved from Whiskers due to his long white beard some say the name added a touch of the bohemian to the well known teatotaller. Later in life he and his family moved to an outstation in Amanturrungu (Mt Leibig) where in 2004 using the facilities of the Watiyawanu Artists he moved to painting acrylic on canvas. He painted passionately and produced many significant works in the four years prior to his passing away in 2008. Bill Whiskey was a two time finalist in the Telstra Awards, his works have been exhibited internationally in Copenhagen, Singapore and London. His works are in the Kerry Stokes Collection WA; Reg Grundy Collection and Art Gallery of South Australia.
