Freddy Timms

Country/Region: Australia (view other artists)

Born in 1944, aboriginal artist Freddy Timms was given the bush name, Gnarrmaliny, after the place he was born, which is also known as Police Hole, on the vast East Kimberley Cattle Station, Bedford Downs. Growing up on the busy property, he learned all the necessary riding and stock handling skills at an early age. He contract mustered on most of them surrounding pastoral leases, including Bedford, Bow River, Lissadell, Mabel Downs, Old Argyle and Texas Downs. After the stockmen's dispute in the seventies, which resulted in the removal of most of the people from their homelands, he was placed first in the Guda-Guda Community at Wyndham, after which, he and his family were relocated to Warmun/Turkey Creek. Today, he and wife Beryline, live at the tiny community of Frog Hollow where he enjoys the peace and quiet as he paints his stories. He started painting about twelve years ago, using the knowledge and techniques that he had acquired by working with, and talking with, the other stockmen/artists such as Jack Britten, Hector Jandanay, Henry Wambini, the late Rover Thomas and his father-in-law, Paddy Jampinji, who was one of the finest of the earlier Warmun/Turkey Creek artists.

Subject & Themes
Minimalist 'aerial' / map view, large rounded blocks of colour. Lake Argyle/Ord river area stories, Argyle Diamond Mine country, Bulunyin country, Barungi country. Turkey Creek School.

Collections
Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, USA

Group Exhibitions

1989 Turkey Creek: Recent Work, Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne

1990 The Seventh National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

1991 The Eighth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

1992 The Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

1993 Images of Power: Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

1993/4 ARATJARA, Art of the First Australians, Touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf Hayward Gallery, London; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark

2010 Pacific Patterns and Dreamings, Group Exhibition, Alcheringa Gallery, Victoria, BC

Bibliography
Ryan, J., 1993, Images of Power, Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley, exhib, cat., National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1993, Aratjara, Art of the First Australians: Traditional and Contemporary Works by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Artists, exhib. cat. (conceived and designed by Bernard Luthi in collaboration with Gary Lee), Dumont, Buchverlag, Koln. (C)

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