Jimmy Tjapangarti Tchooga Draws from Birrundudu Legacy
From 22 May to 6 June 2026, Outstation Gallery in the Northern Territory will showcase new paper works by Jimmy Tjapangarti Tchooga, an artist of Warlpiri/Ngarti heritage from Wirrimanu (Balgo) in the Tanami Desert. These drawings draw inspiration from the Birrundudu Drawings, a collection of 810 crayon artworks created in 1945 by sixteen Aboriginal men on a secluded cattle station, which remained concealed for eighty years. Tchooga, who contributed as a cultural adviser for that initiative, has developed his own series that follows the Luurnpa (Kingfisher ancestor) songline journey in the Wirrimanu area. The highlight of the exhibition is the Waringarri & Luurnpa Drawing Series (2024), crafted using oil pastel on paper.
Key facts
- Jimmy Tjapangarti Tchooga is a Warlpiri/Ngarti man from Wirrimanu (Balgo) in the Tanami Desert.
- The Birrundudu Drawings are 810 crayon drawings made in 1945 by sixteen Aboriginal men on a remote NT cattle station.
- The Birrundudu Drawings were hidden for eighty years.
- Tchooga worked as a cultural adviser on the Birrundudu Drawings project.
- Tchooga's new works trace the songline journey of the Luurnpa, the Kingfisher ancestor.
- The exhibition runs from 22 May to 6 June 2026 at Outstation Gallery, Northern Territory.
- The work Waringarri & Luurnpa Drawing Series (2024) is oil pastel on paper, 76.2 × 50.8cm.
- The exhibition is titled 'Jimmy Tjapangarti Tchooga'.
Entities
Artists
- Jimmy Tjapangarti Tchooga
Institutions
- Outstation Gallery
Locations
- Wirrimanu (Balgo)
- Tanami Desert
- Northern Territory