James Orsto

James Gregory Orsto is a talented Tiwi emerging artist.  Both his personal life and artistic development are entwined in a well known and respected lignage of Tiwi artists: starting with his grand mother, the revered Jean Baptiste Apuatimi and his grand Father Declan Apuatimi; then his acclaimed mother, Maria-Josette Orsto and his father Gregory Orsto.  James since a young age has been surrounded by great artists and culture keepers at work, spending endless hours watching them and naturally developing naturally his artistic abilities inspired by the strong cultural practices of the Tiwi people.  While to-date only producing Tutinis locally for the important Pukamani Ceremonies, James recently produced 3 of the majestic 25 Tutinis (Pukamani Poles) for the monumental “Parlika Tutini Jilamara” installation performance for the Tarnanthi Festival at the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide. James has also been invited to create a Tutini for the monumental international installation “STOA 169” in Polling, Germany in 2020/21.