Freda Warlapinni
Taracarijimo Freda Warlapinni, also known simply as Freda Warlapinni, was a Tiwi woman from Mirrikawuyanga Country on Melville Island. Born around 1928, she was one of the Stolen Generations, taken from her parents as a child and raised by Catholic missionaries on Bathurst Island. Freda moved back to Milikapiti on Melville Island around 1970, when her husband Alvin John Burunjamidi and her brother-in-law were working at the local sawmill. She had four children, with her first child, Linus, born in 1950 and her youngest, Pamela, born in 1963.
Freda lived on Bathurst Island until relocating to Milikapiti on Melville Island in about 1970. She started painting for ceremonies and only began painting on canvas and paper in 1996 at Jilamara Arts and Craft Centre. She later expanded her artistic repertoire to include printmaking. Her art was heavily influenced by the designs she observed her father create on ceremonial pukumani poles.
Artistic Style and Themes
Freda's artworks are characterized by their vitality and exuberant energy. Her paintings often seem spontaneous but are created with slow, careful, and deliberate strokes. Her compositions of dots, lines, and blocks of colour evolved into a minimal design focusing on the rhythm, movement, and energy of mulypinyini (line) interspersed with her 'wildflower' (Japartinga – tree orchid), representing delicate blossoms that grow during the dry season. Freda's paintings also reflect the influences of the ceremonial pukumani poles painted by her father.
Exhibitions and Collections
Despite a late start to her public art career, Freda's work has been exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. Her artworks have been acquired by several prestigious collections, including:
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
- Artbank, Sydney
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- Kerry Stokes Collection, Perth
- The John McBride Collection, Melbourne & Tokyo
- AAMU Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utrecht
Notable Exhibitions
- 1999: Arukulunga Wunitaka Thelma - Cyclone Thelma , Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
- 2001: Island Images , Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne
- 2001: 16th Asian International Art Exhibition , Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China
- 2002: 27th Annual Shell Fremantle Print Award , Fremantle Art Centre, Western Australia
- 2002-03: People in a Landscape (Traveling Exhibition), Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Turkey
- 2004: Explained II: A Closer Look at Aboriginal Art , AAMU Museum of Contemporary Aboriginal Art, Utrecht
- 1997: First Person Plural , Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- 1998: Gantner-Myer Collection , California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco
Legacy
Freda Warlapinni's work, with its unique blend of traditional ceremonial influences and contemporary techniques, continues to be celebrated and studied. Her contributions to the art world highlight the richness of Tiwi culture and the resilience of the Stolen Generations. Her paintings and prints remain a testament to her strength of spirit and her deep connection to her cultural heritage
