Jimmy Pike is an important Indigenous Australian artist from the Walmajarri Great Sandy Desert country. Through his paintings and designs he has contributed to a new awareness of isolated areas of the countryside, misnamed the 'Dead Centre'.
He has given new meaning to the concepts of place and identity. His work has dramatically broadened the scope of fashion and applied art with particular success in the area of textiles.
Jimmy Pike has played a collaborative role in the development of Desert Designs in Fremantle, Western Australia with Steve Culley and David Wroth. They first met Jimmy in 1980 when they were his painting and printmaking teachers in Fremantle jail. The design of this rug is typical of the artist's interpretation of the landscapes that are so familiar to him. They have allowed his vision to be available to a very broad audience
The importance of this object lies in its unique graphic qualities, the history of the development of Desert Designs and the special role Jimmy Pike has played in contemporary Indigenous Australian decorative arts.
Jimmy Pike is an important Australian artist from the Walmajarri Great Sandy Desert country. Through his paintings and designs he has contributed to a new awareness of isolated areas of the countryside misnamed the 'Dead Centre'. He has given new meaning to the concepts of place and identity. He has dramatically broadened the scope of fashion and applied art with particular success in the area of textiles.
Jimmy Pike has played a collaborative role in the development of Desert Designs in Fremantle with Steve Culley and David Wroth. They first met Jimmy in 1980 when they were his painting and printmaking teachers in Fremantle jail. The design of this rug is typical of the artist's interpretation of the landscapes that are so familiar to him.
The importance of this object lies in its unique graphic qualities, the history of the development of Desert Designs and the special role Jimmy Pike has played in contemporary Indigenous Australian decorative arts.
Made in Thailand by Prom Thai.
This rug was made in 1987.
Bought by Arthur Bishop of the Bishop Group, to decorate his new premises for the company in 1988. He was dismayed when the other five directors of his company rejected the rug as too gaudy for their entrance hall and the rug was then used at Mr Bishop's home in Greenwich.
The rug was purchased from an exhibition at the Blaxland Gallery which ran from 27.10.88-12.11.88. ' An exhibition of recent paintings, limited edition prints and rugs'. In the catalogue two rugs are listed as 'Jilji and Kurkuminti, 236 x 178cm $2750. Sand hills and hollows between the sand hills.
Arthur's wife, Gloria Bishop said there were two rugs of the same design in different colours and they chose the red one. It is unclear from the catalogue whether this one is Jilji and Kurrminti 1 or 2.
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