Boxer Milner

Born: c.1935
Location: Milnga-Milnga near Sturt Creek?Skin: Tjampitjin
Language: Tjaru

Boxer is a well respected community elder and successful painter living in Kururrungku Community, also known as Billiluna, near Sturt Creek. He is a Tjaru speaker from country north of Balgo.

He and his two brothers are custodians for the country and the stories of the Sturt Creek area. Boxer's paintings depict different physical and dreaming aspects of the middle and upper stretches of Sturt Creek. He often depicts the flooding of the creek, and the changes to the country this brings, both during the flooding and after the water starts to recede.

The area of Milnga-Milnga, where Boxer was born, is a major flood plain for Sturt Creek and is inundated every summer after the rains. The artist's family, who have always lived here, 'look after' the area by keeping its associated Law and ceremonies. A significant portrayal of the water in Boxer's paintings of Sturt Creek is white, depicting the 'milk water' which runs after rain has fallen in the clay soils upstream of Billiluna. His work includes wonderful rainbows, rain clouds and the temporary creeks that are formed during the wet season, as well as distinctive portrayals of eucalyptus trees in the area.

He has participated in numerous group exhibitions since the early 1990s, has held several solo shows, and his work is represented in a number of major public and private collections. He is undoubtedly one of Balgo's most respected artists. Unfortunately he has been in poorer health in recent years and is not painting actively any more.

Source:
"Boxer Milner", Aboriginal Art Online, www.aboriginalartonline.com/ (Accessed 2/24, 2013)