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Charlie Egalie Japaltjarri |
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Charlie
was born at Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs) north west of Mount Leibig around
Waite Creek. He received some basic European schooling at the Mission
School in Yuendumu and was initiated near Haasts Bluff. He worked as
a stockman for seven years on a Station at Haasts Bluff and later in
Queensland. After marrying his first wife, Nora Nakamarra, he worked
on Narwietooma Station for another seven years. Charlie and his wife
came to Papunya in the very early days of the settlement, when there
were only a couple of houses built.
Charlie has been painting since the earliest days of the Papunya Art Movement in the early 1970's. He became involved with the growing group of artist that worked out of a shed that was set up with the help of Geoffrey Bardon, the white school teacher who helped establish the art movement in 1971. He worked along side other artist such as Billy Stockman and Clifford Possum. By watching and talking to the other artist Charlie soon developed his style of using the traditional methods of painting in sand, transferring the images to canvas. Charlie has two sons and two daughters of whom, Natalie Corby has been painting since the early 1980's under her fathers tuition. His paintings depict Womans Dreaming, Sugar Ant Dreaming, Budgerigar Dreaming, Wallaby Dreaming, Bushfire Dreaming and Mens Dreamings at site across his Country. His Wild Bird Dreaming was used as a front cover on the book "Wildbird Dreaming", giving his work a higher profile. To date he has had exhibitions at the National Gallery in Victoria. His work is also featured in collections at the National Museum of Australia, University of Western Australia Anthropology Museum and the South Australian Museum. Charlie now lives with his family at Mount Leibig where his mother and father have settled closer to their Country of Kunajarrayi. Being closer to his land he is more in touch with what he paints. |
