Hector Tjupuru Burton (1937 – 27 February 2017) was an

Australian Aboriginal art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, ro ...

ist. He is a leading artist from Amaṯa, in north-western

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. His work has been shown in

exhibitions An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...

since 2003, in several cities in Australia and other countries. His first solo exhibition was held in 2004 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. Examples of his paintings are held in the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

, the

Art Gallery of South Australia The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...

, the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, and

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

Early life

Burton was born in 1937. He was born near what is now

Pipalyatjara Pipalyatjara (formerly Mount Davies) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pukatja, Kaltjiti, Indu ...

, in north-west South Australia. A member of the

Pitjantjatjara The Pitjantjatjara (; or ) are an Aboriginal people of the Central Australian desert near Uluru. They are closely related to the Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra and their languages are, to a large extent, mutually intelligible (all are v ...

people, his childhood was spent living a traditional lifestyle in

the bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, where it is largely synonymous with hinterlands or backwoods. The fauna and flora contained within the bush is typically native to the regi ...

. When he was still a child, Burton and his parents came out of the desert and settled at

Ernabella Pukatja (formerly Ernabella, ) is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" (the others being Amata, Pipalyatjara, Fregon/Kaltjiti ...

mission. As a young man, Burton worked as a ringer at the large

cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...

called

Curtin Springs Curtin Springs, formerly Mount Conner Station, is a pastoral lease operating as a cattle station in the Central Australia, Alice Springs region of the Northern Territory of Australia. Geography Occupying an area of , the working cattle statio ...

. He later moved to Amaṯa where he worked building dams, fences and cattle yards outside the town. He also later worked on a building project in Ernabella. Burton was a senior

custodian Custodian may refer to: Occupations * Fullback (rugby league), in rugby, also called a sweeper * Janitor, a person who cleans and maintains buildings * Legal guardian or conservator, who may be called a custodian in some jurisdictions Religion ...

of traditional Pitjantjatjara law (' or Dreaming). His father's

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

, to the west of

Irrunytju Wingellina or Irrunytju Community is a small Indigenous Australian community in Western Australia located about north east of Perth near the Western Australian-South Australian border in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia. T ...

, is closely associated with the (Caterpillar Dreaming) and the (

Red Kangaroo The red kangaroo (''Osphranter rufus'') is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the Largest mammals#Marsupials (Marsupialia), largest extant marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, exce ...

Dreaming). His mother is from Lake Wilson, about 170 km South-west from

Yulara Yulara is a town in the southern region of the Northern Territory, Australia. It is an unincorporated enclave within the MacDonnell Region. At the , Yulara had a permanent population of 1,099, in an area of . It is by road from the World Heri ...

. These legends are the subjects of many of his paintings.

Painting

Burton started painting in 2002. He painted for

Tjala Arts Tjala Arts, formerly known as Minymaku Arts, is an Aboriginal Australian-owned and -managed arts centre located in the remote community of Amata, South Australia, Amata in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankuny ...

, Amaṯa's community-based art company. When he started, the company was called Minymaku Arts. Painting among Pitjantjatjara was originally done by women only (''minymaku'' means "women's"). Men did not join the women until several years later, because they were afraid of revealing too much spiritual

knowledge Knowledge is an Declarative knowledge, awareness of facts, a Knowledge by acquaintance, familiarity with individuals and situations, or a Procedural knowledge, practical skill. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is oft ...

(which in

Western Desert In Egypt, the Western Desert is an area of the Sahara that lies west of the river Nile, up to the Libyan border, and south from the Mediterranean Sea to the border with Sudan. It is named in contrast to the Eastern Desert which extends east fro ...

cultures is meant to be kept secret). Burton was one of the first men at Amaṯa to begin painting; the company changed its name to Tjala Arts in 2004, after several other men joined him. The art community at Amaṯa is still strongly conservative. Only the basics of traditional beliefs are described in their works. To keep the meanings of his paintings hidden, Burton uses dotting and other techniques to disguise sacred figures and ancient symbols. He is a strong supporter of maintaining strict forms of secrecy when it comes to art produced in his community. He is now a

board member A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

of Tjala Arts, and often coordinates projects and exhibitions with the other artists. Burton's early paintings represent legends from his family's Dreaming. They also show strong

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

influences. Burton was taught by

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

when he was growing up at Ernabella, and he mixed these beliefs with his family's Dreaming. When he was older, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a minister, and is now a senior member of the Church on the

Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands Aṉangu is the name used by members of several Aboriginal Australian groups, roughly equivalent to the Western Desert cultural bloc, to describe themselves. The term, which embraces several distinct "tribes" or peoples, in particular the Ngaa ...

. From the later part of 2011, Burton and several other men from Amaṯa led a project to change the subject of their artists' work. Instead of depicting sacred Dreaming knowledge, he and the other board members of Tjala Arts encouraged their artists to paint about other things (such as the

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...

). Burton and the other leaders decided that the popularity of Western Desert art had resulted in people asking too many questions about their traditional designs and too much secret knowledge being revealed. The centre's first exhibition under this project was held in March 2012, in

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. The exhibition was called ''Punu-Nguru'' (''From the Trees'') and its paintings depicted traditional designs of trees from the artists' home countries.

Death

Burton died on 27 February 2017 in Ernabella, aged 80.

Awards

Burton had paintings chosen as finalists for the

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darw ...

s in 2011 and 2012.

Australia Council for the Arts

The

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. Since 1993, it has awarded a

Red Ochre Award The Red Ochre Award is an annual art award for Indigenous Australian artists. Background and description The Red Ochre Award was established in 1993 by the Australia Council for the Arts. It is awarded annually to an outstanding Indigenous A ...

. It is presented to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement. , - ,

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Hector Tjupuru Burton wins top Indigenous art prize
Vogue Living Australia , himself , Red Ochre Award , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burton, Hector Indigenous Australian artists Artists from South Australia Australian painters Pitjantjatjara people 2017 deaths 1937 births