Walykumunu - Tjapartji Bates Kanytjuri

Tjapartji Kanytjuri Bates (c.1933–2015), also spelt Taparti, was an Australian Aboriginal artist based in Warakurna, Wanarn, and Warburton communities in the Gibson Desert. She was of the Ngaanyatjarra people.

Bates' art is focused on Tjukurrpa from her mother and father, particularly Kungarrangkalpa (Seven Sisters) and Warmarrla Tjukurrpa, and features distinctive styles of "unusual symmetries and circular motifs," as well as "traditional motifs and iconographic forms".

She is based at Warakurna, Warakurna is a remote community situated on the Great Central Road in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia, approximately 330km from Uluru near the border with the Northern Territory. The township of approximately 180 people is nestled amongst the spectacular Rawlinson Ranges in the Gibson Desert, close to the Giles Meteorological Weather Station.

Warakurna Artists is an energetic, creative and happy place where men and women, young and old, paint and share Tjukurrpa (traditional law and culture), and contemporary stories. Passing on these important stories to young people is a critical means of keeping culture vital and strong.

The paintings are vibrant and diverse, reflecting each artist’s unique style, stories and connection to country.