Jack Dale Sold at Auction Prices

Photographer, Sculptor, b. 1922 - d. 2013

DOB: C.1922 - 2013
Born: IMANJI (MT HOUSE STATION)
LANGUAGE: NGARINYIN
REGION: KIMBERLEY, W.A.

The Kimberley is a unique and special part of Australia and considered to be one of the most remote, wild and beautiful regions on earth. The dramatic, stunning landscape continues to seduce and tantalise visitors and is fast becoming a popular tourist destination. Despite the sheer beauty of this untouched region, there lies a dark and violent history of colonial contact that is still within living memory of a depleting number of elders, with tangible evidence of the conflict and brutality still marked within the landscape. Jack Dale is one of the last remaining Kimberley elders whose life is Kimberley history personified. His life story has been recorded by historians and academics, and for the past 15 years Jack Dale has used painting as a method to tell his story from his own unique perspective and aesthetic.

Records recently obtained from Births, Deaths and Marriages confirms that Jack was born between 1920 and 1922, placing him in his nineties by 2012. He was born in the bush at Mt House Station (Imanji country). His mother was a Ngarinyin woman and his father, Jack Dale Senior, was a hard-living and brutal Scottish frontiersman. Once, Jack Dale Senior shot his own son in the leg to stop him from 'running away', and naturally, Jack's mother tried to keep him away from his violent white father. When Jack's father passed away, his Aboriginal grandfather took him under his wing, teaching him Narrungunni law and protecting him from the prevailing social attitudes towards 'mixed blood' children. During this time Jack Dale saw many things that would later be the subjects of his paintings; hiding in the bush as police patrols forcibly took Aboriginal children from their families, watching chain gangs of Aboriginal men being marched away to the Prison Tree and the arrival of the Afghan camel drivers.

Jack Dale went on to live a remarkable life that bridged two cultures. For most of his life, Jack worked as a stockman and was greatly revered as a skilful, tough and uncompromising man who was never 'thrown from a horse or defeated by a beast'. He is also a respected Aboriginal elder and lawman. Jack is considered one of the last of a generation of old men who possess a complete knowledge of the rituals, law and culture of his people; he is a vital link to the past.

Jack began to paint in the 1990's with rigour and excitement. In recent years Jack was forced to retire from painting following a spate of heart attacks which placed him in serious danger and saw him admitted to a home. It is only now that this resilient man, has begun to visit the studio to follow his painting career with a vengeance - and as much enthusiasm as he had in the 90's. It is a truly remarkable story.

Jack Dale has produced large ceremonial boards used by traditional dancers to re-enact dreaming stories. He also uses his extensive cultural knowledge to record aspects of the Wandjina dreaming sites of his people. The Wandjina is an iconic powerful spirit man of the Kimberley, who forms clouds, rain and the landscape, and who, in Jack's paintings, is distinguishable by its large circular eyes, round head and halo formation. The eyes are most arresting eyes and entice the viewer in to the work. Jack manages to capture the power and strength of the Wandjina with the use of strong lines and dots which give the artworks a pulsating energy. He uses large blocks of colour outlined with dots, which is synonymous with the Kimberley region, and then adds figurative motifs of boab trees, horses, aeroplanes and people to tell his story. Whilst originally painting in natural ochre, Jack's most recent works are painted with Acrylics which allows him to use vibrant hues, including blues, reds and yellows.

While the subject matter of Jack's artworks is at times grim, and to the western eye, the Wandjinas may seem confronting, the spirit and energy of Jack's naive style works overcomes this initial response. Despite all, there is an enchanting and buoyant spirit in his art (as there is in this resilient man). The stories behind each of his works add an extra dimension to Jack's paintings and when understood, add to the fascination of these paintings. They are a unique and often humorous record of a long life lived deep within traditional Aboriginal law and yet also in the dangerous 'whitefeller' world at the frontier of Kimberley life. These paintings raise your interest and beg to be talked about and considered. They are indeed a doorway to a greater understanding of Australia's history, a fact that makes his artworks highly collectible and the basis for great dinner party discussions.

Jack Dale is an important and significant man as he is part of the living history of the Kimberley region and its Indigenous people. Interest in Jack's work has increased exponentially through his many solo exhibitions. In 2012 Jack Dale was ranked 66th in The Australian Indigenous Art Market top 100 (AIAM100). His art can be seen as important historical and cultural documents, which could equally hang in a fine art Gallery or a museum, where their anthropological value is outstanding, providing authentic, first-hand information regarding Australia's history.