Tjukurrtjanu: Origins of Western Desert Art

Freddy West Tjakamarra was a tall, powerful, imposing figure – more than 6 feet tall… He was a 'do-er,' always making implements – spears, boomerangs, shields, mirru (spear throwers) – never at rest. He was fearless, and he emanated this power. Novelty, of a sort, access to new relationships and knowledge motivated him more than the intimate performances of ritual and dance. (Fred Myers, 2011)

Freddy West was born in the Pollock Hills north of present day Kiwirrkura, and acknowledged Wala Wala rockhole as the major site in his country. In 1962, Government Welfare Branch patrol officer, Jeremy Long first made contact with Freddy West and his family in the area of Dovers Hills. The following year, he began to walk with his family to Papunya and encountered Long at Wili rockhole on the way. At Papunya, Freddy West developed a reputation as a brilliant tracker of assistance to the police and became one of the founding artists in 1971.

An occasional painter, Freddy West created a number of precise and highly decorated depictions of men's ceremonies with related objects, which often refer to places in his country. Later Freddy produced optical Tingarri compositions of multiple concentric circles and travelling paths.

During the 1970s Freddy West was instrumental in instigating the Pintupi's move to establish outstations deep in country near his birthplace. In 1983 he played a vital role in shaping the newly founded Kiwirrkura community as a distinctive Pintupi base from which he and his countrymen and women could again travel to important sites in their homelands.