Michael Nelson Jagamara

Michael Nelson Jagamara is a senior Warlpiri tribesman from the Western Desert, Northern Territory and custodian of many Dreaming stories born circa 1946. Jagamara’s painting career began in 1981 at Papunya, he is now one of the most widely collected and prominent Aboriginal artists. His most famous piece is a mosaic, which was commissioned by the Australian government and it lies outside the national Parliament.

His style of work in this show started in 1998 after year’s of traditionally coloured, layered dot and circle work.  This new work was entitled the New Expression series.

The complex ceremonial ground and body designs and dreaming stories relating to the yam, possum, kangaroo, lightning and snake are still contained within these works just more vividly expressed than ever before, "I thought to myself - I'll do different way to them mob instead of copying them. Do my own way".

In 1984 he won the National Aboriginal Art Award; in 1986 he exhibited in the Biennale of Sydney. In 1987 an eight metre painting by him was installed in the foyer of the Sydney Opera House.

He visited the USA with Billy Stockman in 1988 for the opening of the "Dreamings: Art of Aboriginal Australia" exhibition in New York. In 1989 he had his first solo exhibition, followed by shows in 1990 and 1993. In 1993 he received the Order of Australia Medal for services to Aboriginal art, and in 1994 he received a Fellowship from the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council.

Jagamara grew up in the bush and remembers hiding in fear at his first sight of white men at Mt Doreen station. His parents had him educated at a mission school at Yuendemu until he was thirteen. He left school after initiation, and worked at buffalo shooting, driving trucks, droving cattle followed by the army, before returning to Yuendemu and then settling at Papunya.

He is the subject of a major publication by Vivian Johnson (Michael Jagamara Nelson, 1997).