- Artist: Timothy Cook
- Art Centre: Jilamara Arts and Crafts
- Region: Tiwi Islands
Artwork Story
Timothy Cook expresses himself through his loose and gestural designs. He paints exclusively with natural ochre and his artworks are highly sort after by major collections both nationally and internationally. Timothy won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art Award in 2012 and has been shortlisted for many others, including the Hadley Art Award in 2019, the Wynne Prize in 2020 and Sulman in 2023.
Timothy has been creating paintings, prints and carvings at Jilamara Arts and Crafts since 1999 and has represented the art centre in numerous high-profile solo and group exhibitions. His art is very personal to him; he likes parlingarri jilamara ‘old designs’ which he learnt from growing up with the wulimawi (old people). These are the unique and striking combinations of kurluwukari (circles), pwanga (dots) and marlipinyini (lines) that make up jilamara – body paint design and the complex visual culture of the Tiwi people.
For many years Timothy has focused more specifically on the circular Kulama design. The Kulama ceremony is the Tiwi initiation which coincides with the harvest of wild yam. The ceremony is performed late in the wet season when a ring appears around Japarra (the moon). Elders of both sexes sing and dance for three days, welcoming children into adulthood. The circles in his work symbolize the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).
“Japarra is the moon – it also means Moonman. He is important to the Tiwi people, they know. Japalinga means stars.”
“I like painting for culture way – Kulama – that means painting culture. We teach culture. Kulama also mean yam – they eat that one, they get it from the ground and eat it. Kulama is ceremony where they yoi [dance].”
“I paint Japarra, Kulama and Japalinga.”
AWARDS:
2002 27th Annual Shell Fremantle Print Award Fremantle Art Centre
2004 Special Commendation 21st NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2005 22nd NATSIAA, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2006 Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award, Queensland Art Gallery
2008 25th NATSIAA, The Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2009 Western Australian Premiers Indigenous Art Award, Perth
2009 26th NATSIAA, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2010 27th NATSIAA, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2010 Togart Contemporary Art Award, Chan Contemporary Art Space, Darwin
2011 28th NATSIAA The Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2011 Highly Commended, Western Australian Indigenous Art Award, Perth
2012 Winner, 29th NATSIAA, Museum and Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2013 Kate Challis RAKA Award, Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne
2013 Togart Contemporary Art Award, Chan Contemporary Art Space, Darwin
COLLECTIONS:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Artbank Collection, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Laverty Collection, Sydney
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Charles Darwin University, Darwin
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
Art Gallery of South Australia
Wesfarmers Collection of Australia, Western Australia
Murdoch University Collection, Western Australia
Pat Corrigan
Musee du quai Branly, France
National Gallery of Australia
Ann Lewis Collection
Edith Cowan University, Perth
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
King Edward Memorial Hospital, Perth.
Private collections in the USA
St John of God Hospital, Perth
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
The City of Stirling art collection
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bennett, J. ‘Ngingingawula Jilamara kapi purunguparri (Our Paintings on Bark) Gallery Monthly Magazine of the National Gallery Society of Victoria, September. 1992
1993 The Body Tiwi Aboriginal Art from Melville and Bathurst Islands, catalogue, The University Gallery, University of Tasmania at Launceston
1994 Art of the Tiwi from the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, catalogue, NGV Melbourne
2004 Living Tiwi: Tiwi Awuta Yimpangui, Jilamara Arts and Crafts
2006 McLean, Bruce, Timothy Cook, Ex Cat. Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award
2008, Ryan, J. ‘Timothy Cook’ Ex Cat. Timothy Cook, Aboriginal & Pacific Art
2009 Catalogue, Western Australian Indigenous Art Award
2010 Almanac, The Gift of Ann Lewis, MCA Catalogue (page 13)
2010 Tiwi Shima, woodblock printmaking, Jilamara Arts & Crafts, catalogue
2010 Timothy Cook , Nicholas Rothwell, The Australian
2011 nginimuwila kulama –our kulama – Outstation Gallery & Jilamara Arts Catalogue
2012 APT7 catalogue, Queensland Art Gallery- Gallery of Modern Art
2012 Luminous World, catalogue, Fremantle Press. Perth, WA
2012 Tiwi (Art-History-Culture) Jennifer Isaacs, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne
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