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Anmatyerr people

about 1920–86

Toby Brown was an artist for Papunya Tula Artists in the mid-1970s. From 1975 or earlier he lived in town camps on the fringes of the Central Australian town of Alice Springs and was an important figure in campaigns to improve camp amenities. Most of his paintings for Papunya Tula date from 1976 to the late 1970s. He travelled to New Zealand and Papua New Guinea in the 1970s as a representative of the Australian Government's Aboriginal Arts Board and of Papunya Tula Artists.

Toby Brown Tjampitjinpa

Artworks

Aboriginal painting.
Carpet Snake Dreaming

Carpet Snake Dreaming, 1976

The rock waterhole site of Alcootha, which sits atop a hill, is represented by the central circle in this painting. The green horseshoe shapes around it are waterbirds. The Carpet Snake ancestor associated with this site travelled west and then turned back to his own Country, searching for one of his countrymen with whom he could share some food. Eventually the 2 met, exchanged ceremonial greetings then went their separate ways. The other circular markings suggest the tall conical headdresses worn by the men.

Toby Brown Tjampitjinpa Carpet Snake Dreaming

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