Kaapa Mbitjana Tjampitjinpa Later paintings

In 1974 Papunya artworks for sale in Alice springs cause upset with other aboriginal groups. The paintings were seen as revealing too many secrets and sacred imagery.

To keep the peace Papunya artists started over dotting areas of an artwork that might cause offense. They also decided to paint increasingly less important stories.

The dots used to conceal sacred references soon became design elements. This dot style of painting caused some artists like John Tjakmarra and Clifford Possum to flourish.

The though dots didn’t suit Kaapas style and much of the power and authority inherent in Kaapa’s subsequent works was dissipated under a veil of dots. Kaapa was at odds with the majority of the painting group. He wanted to paint what was important and sacred as he always had.

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