Timothy Cook, Kulama, 2019

Lot description

TIMOTHY COOK born 1958 Kulama, 2019 ochre on linen 150.5 x 120 cm bears inscription verso: Timothy Cook, 57-19, Jilamara PROVENANCE Jilamara Arts & Crafts, Northern Territory, Cat No. 57-19 Private Collection, New South Wales Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Jilamara Arts This work by Timothy Cook depicts Kulama, one of the most significant ceremonial events in Tiwi culture. Painted in 2019 using natural ochres on linen, the composition translates the visual language of Jilamara design into a contemporary format, where rhythm, repetition, and surface carry cultural meaning. Tiwi art is deeply connected to ceremony and creation narratives, with its distinctive patterns derived from body painting used in ritual contexts. In this work, Cook references the Kulama ceremony, held during the late wet season when a halo appears around the moon. This important initiation ceremony marks the transition of young men into adulthood, taking place over several days of singing and dancing led by Elders, and culminating in the conferral of adult names. Cook's layered fields of dots and lines evoke the ceremonial body designs associated with Kulama, embedding the painting within a living cultural framework. As Pedro Wonaeamirri of Jilamara Arts & Crafts has described, Tiwi art expresses life and culture as a whole, grounded in the foundational acts of song, dance, and ancestral creation. Timothy Cook is widely regarded as one of the most important living artists from the Tiwi Islands, and this work stands as a strong example of his ability to balance tradition and innovation while maintaining a direct connection to ceremony and community. © TIMOTHY COOK / Copyright Agency, 2026