Michael was born around 1960 in Alice Springs and is married to Barbara Charles Napaltjarri, both
are Anmatyerre speakers.
Michael and Barbara live at Mt Allan and they are both accomplished and
highly sought after artists. Michaels country is around Coniston and he usually paints
his fathers Perentie Dreaming. He also paints Snake Dreaming and Honey Ant Dreaming.
When Clifford Possum Passed away both Michael and Cassidy Japaltjarri carried out special
ceremonies to bring the spirit and body of Clifford back to his country. During this time
Michael painted special paintings in the sand, as did Cassidy. He has recently produced
some paintings that reflect the elements of Cliffords early work and these are magnificent
paintings.
Michael began painting around 1982 at Laramba and his work is strong with intersting effects
and variations on the normal dotting seen in work from this area. He uses lines, dots and striking
images of animals in his work which makes for a striking effect. The work of Michael is very collectible
and is highly sought after in Australia, Europe and America.
Here are some examples of the work by Michael Tommy Japangati.
