The public performance of the cycle was pivotal in developing Rover Thomas’s career as a painter. Initially, he consulted with his classificatory uncle, ritual leader, and artist Paddy Jaminji in his vision to create an inaugral series of painted boards for the Kurirr-Kurirr ceremony that illustrated the historical and contemporary events witnessed by the spirit of the woman.

Rover himself commenced painting in 1982, three years after the creation of the Kurirr-Kurirr, and by the mid 1980s, had produced an arresting body of work, including a series of paintings that concerned the killings of Aboriginal people from the early settlement times of the Kimberley. While reflecting aspects of Kimberley rock art and ceremonial body paint, Rover Thomas’s rare approach and vision were unlike that of any of his contemporaries. Layers of thick traditional pigment and charcoal affixed with bush gum and resin binders gave the spiritual and physical representation of the sites and landscapes an unparalleled textural quality. The bold depiction of his subjects, outlined with white clay dotting, was an innovative design invention that influenced what was to become the style recognised as the Turkey Creek or Warmun School of painting.

From 1987 until he died in 1998, Rover Thomas was consistently represented in exhibitions nationwide. In 1990, he represented Australia as one of the first two Aboriginal artists at the 44th Biennale di Venezia. His solo exhibition Roads Cross, at the National Gallery of Australia in 1994, celebrated his extraordinary life and was a tribute to his gift to Australian art.

Belinda Carrigan (ed.), Rover Thomas: I Want to Paint, Heytesbury Pty Ltd, 2003.