• 13. Kurlkurta
  • 13. Kurlkurta
  • 13. Kurlkurta
  • 13. Kurlkurta
  • 13. Kurlkurta

Adam Butler

13. Kurlkurta


Regular price   

' One rockhole. Kapi. Tjunu, go in. Dreaming, Tjukurpa. My father's country. Palya'. Adam has painted his father's country west of Tjukurla called Kurlkurta. It is a very important Tingarri site. Adam's father John Tjakamarra, an original Papunya artist, was instrumental in the homelands movement and establishing a water tank at Kurlkurta. It is a full day's drive west of Tjukurla'.


Adam Butler is an artist and arts worker with Tjarlirli Art.'Butler', as he is affectionately known around the art centre, is a member of a family well-known in the Western Desert region for their artistic and cultural knowledge. His father was John Tjakamarra (dec.), a founding member of Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd. Adam was born at Papunya, and has lived in Kintore and Kiwirrkurra communities closer to his homelands. He now lives and paints from Tjukurla community in the Ngaanyatjarra lands, just across the West Australian border. Butler brings a lively presence and joyful sense of humour to the art centre, and enjoys all aspects of art centre life including solo and collaborative painting, access-to-country trips, and assistingwith studio maintenance and preparation as an arts worker.


Tjarlirli Art and Kaltukatjara Art are two community-owned art centers located on either side of the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia. The Tjarlirli art centre is located in Tjukurla, a small community of around 50 people in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Tjukurla was established here in the 1980s due to its proximity to extremely significant cultural sites and the ancestral homelands of community members. Nestled between sand dunes and the vast salt lake (Lake Hopkins). Kaltukatjara art centre is just across the border in the NPY Lands of the Northern Territory. Kaltukatjara (Docker River) community was established as a settlement in the 1960s and is now home to around 300 people. It lies along stunning mountain ranges and river beds.


On standard shipping, our fulfilment time is 7 business days. For urgent orders, please select express post and we will generally fulfil within 2 business days. We are a very small team and shipping from Darwin can take some time. Thanks for your patience! 

We pack all artworks securely to protect during shipping. All artworks and purchase above $100 are insured against damage during transit and require a signature on delivery. A tracking number is be provided as part of our shipping process to the contact details you provide. 

As much as possible (for artworks under 1 metre) we use Australia Post to ship our artworks within Australia. For artworks that are large or fragile, we use Pack n Send to courier the artworks to you. For customers who purchase multiple artworks at once, we can get quotes to send your purchase via the regular shuttle between Darwin and major capital cities. 

We do our best to provide accurate shipping costs on our website at check out, however every item for sale in our gallery is unique and as such, it is sometimes difficult to automate and estimate our shipping costs, especially when customers purchase more than one artwork at once. Our team reviews the postage paid on every order and on the odd occasion we have significantly overcharged or undercharged you, our team will be in contact to rectify. If you have any concerns, or you would like a custom shipping quote on an artwork, send us a note. 

International customer? Please contact us to arrange a quote.

Visiting Darwin or a local? Local pick up available during normal opening hours.