Joey ‘Helicopter’ Tjungurrayi was born in 1946 in Nynmi country and grew up among the vast sandhills of the Great Sandy Desert and the Gibson Desert, located in the northeast of Western Australia. Raised in a traditional nomadic lifestyle, Helicopter learned from an early age the vital skills of locating water sources and hunting for bush food. His experiences moving through country as a young boy have had a profound and lasting influence on his artistic practice.
Helicopter first came into contact with white people in 1957. That year, after accidentally drinking motor oil and falling seriously ill, he was flown to the Balgo Mission by helicopter – a vehicle many in his community had never seen before. The incident earned him the nickname that has stayed with him ever since.
At the Balgo Mission, Helicopter met and married Aboriginal artist Lucy Napanangka Yukenbarri. The two collaborated closely on painting projects until the early 1990s. As a Maparn (respected healer), Senior Lawman and ceremonial singer, Helicopter did not seek recognition for his contributions to Lucy’s work. While at the Balgo Mission, he also travelled widely, picking up supplies in Broome, Alice Springs and Wyndham. His time there was marked by a wide range of responsibilities: drilling for water, cutting timber for fencing, and repairing the windmills among them.
n 1994, Helicopter was encouraged to begin painting his own works. The optical and textural effects of Helicopter’s works are characterised by tightly overlapping dots that create linear striations in stippled, thick impasto. His depictions of sandhill country often feature a contrasting central water hole or interconnected sites, symbolising the vital role of permanent ‘living’ water sources during his youth. Throughout his career, Helicopter has made significant shifts in his colour palette, drawing on the ancient tradition of seeking out materials to express the intensity and spirit of the desert.
Helicopter and Lucy had eight children, two of whom - Christine Yukenbarri and Imelda (Yukenbarri) Gugaman - have become successful artists in their own right.
In 2022, Helicopter was honoured with the Western Australian State Cultural Treasures Award in the category of Visual Arts.
Public Collections
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Kluge-Ruhe Collection, USA
Gantner Myer Collection
Laverty Collection, Sydney
Edith Cowan University, Western Australia
Harland Collection
Ken Thompson and Pierre Marecaux Collection
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris