Rover Thomas was born circa 1930 at Yalda Soak on the Canning Stock route, near Gunawaggi in the Western Desert. He worked for most of his life as a stockman but in 1968, in the wake of wide-spread dismissal of Aboriginal staff within the Kimberley cattle industry, he moved to Warmun (Turkey Creek) in the East Kimberley.

He began painting in 1984 and played an active and leading role in the cultural regeneration of the Kimberley. His painting offers a unique and personal interpretation of the landscape of the Kimberley region. He was the owner of the Krill Krill, a creative ceremony which has become synonymous with the Aboriginal people of the East Kimberley. The songs and associated imagery led to the creation of a style of painting distinctive to the region. Large areas of the canvas are outlined and filled by a single colour.

Drawing on the topography of his country and its stories, his work also offers commentary on twentieth century non-Indigenous Australia. His works are often simple but have a devastating intensity. He conveys a deep sense of spirituality and place through colour and form. "Thomas both fascinates with his singular use of space and colour and constantly alerts one to the fact that the painting is also a spiritual map."

In 1990, Rover Thomas was one of the first Aboriginal artists represented at the Venice Biennale. His works are represented in the Australian National Gallery, the Anthropology Museum at the University of Western Australia, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the State Gallery of South Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Holmes à Court collection and various other private collections.

Rover's art demonstrates great diversity and his later work reflects a deep concern for the history of his people. Rover created a suite of paintings illustrating three horrific incidents of conflict between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the early 1900s. The "killing times" works stand as an historical mem-ory and lead us on a journey through landscape and time to remember the murderous atrocities committed against Aboriginal people.

Through a lifetime's personal working relationship with the Kimberley, Rover Thomas has become a part of the story of the country, expressing the landscape, the people and their stories through his art. He has made an immense contribution to and achievement in the arts in Western Australia.

Reference; Louis Nowra "Blackness in the Art of Rover Thomas", http://www.art.australia.com/articles/thomas/thomas1.html

A. Moon and shadow (from the Kril Kril series) 1988 ochres on gum on canvas 61.2 x 107.0cms Collection, Art Gallery of Western Australia.