Wenten Rubuntja

Who was Wenten Rubuntja?

W. Rubuntja was an Australian artist and Aboriginal rights activist. He belonged to the Arrernte indigenous people of Central Australia. His works were painted in acrylic or watercolours and influenced by themes from Dreamtime myths. His paintings are to be found in Australia's Parliament House, Canberra and many other public and private collections.

W. Rubuntja died from advanced kidney failure in Alice Springs Hospital on 3 July 2005. His family have asked that, in accordance with Aboriginal Australian practices concerning respect for the dead, he should be referred to only as W. Rubuntja for the time being, and that any pictures of him be withdrawn from display for the next 12 months.

For W., both the "Aranda Watercolour" style of art developed by Albert Namatjira, and the "dot paintings" popularised by the artists of Papunya reflected traditional values and themes, despite differences in technique: "Doesn't matter what sort of painting we do in this country, it still belongs to the people, all the people. This is worship, work, culture. It's all Dreaming. There are two ways of painting. Both ways are important, because that's culture." –