Timothy Cook expresses himself through his loose and gestural designs. He paints exclusively with natural ochre and his artworks are highly sort after by major collections both nationally and internationally. Timothy won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art Award in 2012 and has been shortlisted for many others, including the Hadley Art Award in 2019, the Wynne Prize in 2020 and Sulman in 2023.

Timothy has been creating paintings, prints and carvings at Jilamara Arts and Crafts since 1999 and has represented the art centre in numerous high-profile solo and group exhibitions. His art is very personal to him; he likes parlingarri jilamara ‘old designs’ which he learnt from growing up with the wulimawi (old people). These are the unique and striking combinations of kurluwukari (circles), pwanga (dots) and marlipinyini (lines) that make up jilamara – body paint design and the complex visual culture of the Tiwi people.

For many years Timothy has focused more specifically on the circular Kulama design. The Kulama ceremony is the Tiwi initiation which coincides with the harvest of wild yam. The ceremony is performed late in the wet season when a ring appears around Japarra (the moon). Elders of both sexes sing and dance for three days, welcoming children into adulthood. The circles in his work symbolize the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).

“Japarra is the moon – it also means Moonman. He is important to the Tiwi people, they know. Japalinga means stars.”

“I like painting for culture way – Kulama – that means painting culture. We teach culture. Kulama also mean yam – they eat that one, they get it from the ground and eat it. Kulama is ceremony where they yoi [dance].”

“I paint Japarra, Kulama and Japalinga.”