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Seeding Possibility

Seeding Possibility is an origin story that connects early Western Desert paintings held in the State Art Collection with the beginnings of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement.

Made in the early 1970s, at a time when Aboriginal cultural and creative expression was treated as ethnography rather than art, a group of senior Aboriginal men living at the government settlement of Papunya in the Northern Territory were inspired to paint ceremonial designs and Tjukurrpa (ancestral creation narratives), first on the school wall for their children and later on Masonite board and other materials at hand. This marked the beginnings of a new form of collective artistic expression in the Western Desert.

Seeding Possibility presents a small collection of Central and Western Desert paintings that were among the earliest Western Desert paintings to be exhibited in art galleries across Australia and that contributed to the emergence of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement.

  • 12 December 2026 – 25 April 2027
  • FREE

curated by

Carly Lane
Curator Indigenous Art | Head of Indigenous Programs

media release

The origins of contemporary Aboriginal art on show at AGWA

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Seeding Possibility shines a light on an extraordinary group of artists whose works laid the foundations for one of the most important movements in Australian art. By bringing these paintings together from the State Art Collection, we invite audiences to reflect on their significance and continuing influence on contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art.

Colin Walker

AGWA Director

It’s a privilege to show these early paintings. Featuring them has allowed us to look more closely at their rich history and consult the artists’ families and senior knowledge holders to ensure they are suitable for public display today.

Carly Lane

AGWA Curator Indigenous Art | Head of Indigenous Programs

Long Jack Phillipus Tjakamarra Hair string at Pangku 1974. Synthetic polymer on canvas board, 71 x 56 cm. The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Gift of The Rothmans Foundation, 1989. © Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

Anatjari Tjakamarra Tingarri men at Mingaritjurrtju 1974. Synthetic polymer on canvas, 76 x 60.6 cm. The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Gift of The Rothmans Foundation, 1989. © Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

Kaapa Tjampitjinpa Winparrku serpents 1974. Synthetic polymer on canvas on board, 124 x 78 cm; 125.5 x 80.4 cm (frame). The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Gift of The Rothmans Foundation, 1989. © Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

Charlie Tararu Tjungurrayi Tingarri men at Mitukatjirri 1973. Synthetic polymer paint on (chip)board, 122 x 92.5 cm. The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Gift of The Rothmans Foundation, 1989. © Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

Nosepeg Tjupurrula Fire and snake at Wilkinkarra. Synthetic polymer paint on particle board, 121.7 x 91.5 cm. The State Art Collection, The Art Gallery of Western Australia. Gift of The Rothmans Foundation, 1989. © Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd.

Kedela wer kalyakoorl ngalak Wadjak boodjak yaak.

Today and always, we stand on the traditional land of the Whadjuk Noongar people.