ROVER JOOLAMA THOMAS - UNTITLED
ROVER JOOLAMA THOMAS
UNTITLED, 1993
90 x 120 cm
natural earth pigments on canvas
REGION
Kimberley, WA
PROVENANCE
Waringarri, Aboriginal Arts, WA Cat No. AP 3746 Private Collection, VicCooee Art Leven, Sydney NSWAccompanied by a faxed copy of the original certificate of authenticity
STORY
Rover Thomas lived a traditional bush life with his family at Well 33 until he moved, at 10 years of age, with his family to Billiluna Station, where he was initiated, after his mother's death. After working for a period as a jackeroo on the Canning Stock Route he became a fencing contractor in Wyndham and later worked as a stockman in the Northern Territory and the fringes of the Gibson and Great Sandy Deserts. In his later years, he settled and began painting in the Warmun community at Turkey Creek.While Rover's artworks can generally be characterised as map-like depictions of country executed with natural earth pigments in a graphic Kimberley style, they generally carry historic and social connotations. In this work, he depicted the vast, usually dry, salt-lake system known as Lake Dora near Punmu, his birthplace. When good rains come, the area teems with wildlife and Desert Oaks, the largest beautiful shady trees in this desert region which dot the high-water line.
ARTIST PROFILE
