BORN: c 1928
LANGUAGE GROUP: EASTERN ANMATYERRE
REGION: UTOPIA, PMARA JUTUNTA (TI- TREE)- NORTHERN TERRITORY
View Kudditji’s artwork here
Kudditji Kngwarreye was born around 1928, at Alhalkere, Utopia (approximately 230 kms North East of Alice Springs. He is a full brother of renowned artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye. (deceased)
Kudditji (pronounced Kubbitji) is an Anmatyerre Elder and custodian of his country.
After a traditional upbringing, Kudditji embarked on a long carreer as a stockman and also worked in a number of mineral and gold mines in Northern Territory.
Kudditji is a respected and integral part of his land and culture and as an artist he is internationally acclaimed and his works are highly collectable and strikingly unique. He first began to paint in the late seventies on boards, after being inspired by the movement coming out of Papunya. Kudditji began to celebrate the Dreamings and stories of his country in the traditional dot style.
He depicted the Dreaming stories from around the Utopia area such as Emu Dreaming at the Boundary Bore, Seed Dreaming and the Yam Dreaming. He soon gained recognition as a precise and authoritative documentator of ceremony, living and breathing the songs, bringing them through to the physical world on canvas.
Towards the end of the nineties Kudditji style changed radically.
He began to experiment beyond the established norm, to develop fresh techniques and journey deep into his interpretation of his country.
He uses Vibrant and Broad colours, applied with a heavily loaded brush and sweeping strokes, resulting in massive blocks of colour, laid alongside each other, occasionally using only two colours, while in other paintings, three of more to give the impression of a patchwork quilt of juxtaposed colours.
He proudly calls this work ‘My Country’