Contacted in 1962 whilst camped at Yarrana Rockhole due west of Kintore with his wife and young child, Timmy was among the first group of Pintupi to be brought into the newly established settlement of Papunya. Part of the original group of painters at Papunya in 1971, he moved to Kintore when it was established in 1981 and further to the north. He paints Dancing Women, Dingo, Snake, Water Dreaming, from this region. 

A key ritual figure since the late 1970’s, he was in the forefront of moves to establish the settlement at Kiwwirrkura where he now lives. Timmy is also one of the custodians for the important claypan site of Parrayingi, Before his people encountered white man they would gather at this site after the rains. 

Timmy’s work has been exhibited extensively nationally and overseas including: 1974, Anvil Art Gallery, Albury 1983, Mori Gallery, Sydney 1984, Papunya and Beyond, Araluen Centre, Alice Springs 1988, Dreamings the Art of Aboriginal Australia, The Asia Society Galleries, New York. 1989, Papunya Tula: Contemporary Paintings from Australia's Western Desert, John Weber Gallery, New York, USA. 1989, The Sixth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin 1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art, Westpac Gallery, Melbourne; Design Warehouse Sydney [through Lauraine Diggins Fine Art] 1990, l'ete Australien a' Montpellier, Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France. 1991, Canvas and Bark, South Australian Museum, Adelaide. 1990, The Seventh National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin 1991/92, Friendly Country, Friendly People, Touring Exhibition, through Araluen Born: c.1938 – 2000 People: Pintupi Language: Pintupi Area: Papunya/Kintore Timmy Payungka Japangardi Photographs and text copyright of Jinta Desert Art 1998 Centre, Alice Springs. 1992, Tjukurrpa, Museum fur Volkerkunde, Basel. 1993, Tjukurrpa, Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia (1971-1993), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth WA 1994, Power of the Land, Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria; 1996 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs; 1999 ‘Tjinytjlpa’ Embassy of Australia, Washington, USA; 1999 ‘Indigenous Art of the Dreamtime’ foyer of United Nations building, New York, Aboriginal Galleries of Australia, Jinta Desert Art. 

Timmy’s work is housed in many prestigious collections including: Artbank, Sydney; Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin; Museum of Victoria, Melbourne; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; South Australian Museum, Adelaide; The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth; The Kelton Foundation, Santa Monica, U.S.A; Jinta Desert Art Collection Sydney.

Select Bibliography:  Bardon, G., 1979, Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert, Rigby, Adelaide. (C) Bardon, G., 1991, Papunya Tula Art of the Western Desert, McPhee Gribble, Ringwood, Victoria. (C) Diggins, L. (ed.), 1989, A Myriad of Dreaming: Twentieth Century Aboriginal  Art, exhib. cat., Malakoff Fine Art Press, North Caulfield, Victoria. Johnson, V., 1994, The Dictionary of Western Desert Artists, Craftsman House, East Roseville, New South Wales. (C) Sutton, P. (ed.), 1988, Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal Australia, Viking,  Ringwood, Victoria. (C) Sydney Morning Herald, 'Record damages for black painters', p.4. Wed. December 14, 1994. 1993, Tjukurrpa Desert Dreamings, Aboriginal Art from Central Australia  (1971-1993), exhib. cat., Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. (C)