This work depicts the remarkably diverse flora found through Martu Country. These plants are not only vital as significant food sources, but also celebrated for their aesthetic splendour. In the context of the often harsh and arid environments in which desert flowers bloom, their vibrancy, delicacy, and variation become even more spectacular.
Name: Helena Butt
Community: Bidyadanga
Biography:
“I was painting mostly around my dad. I seen my dad painting at Mangkaja (arts centre) at Fitzroy Crossing, and going out bush, and seeing places, and putting it down on canvas. Sometimes I paint before I see it. I didn’t think I could (paint) but I found that I had something in me. You got it in you, you hear that little voice, you have that, you have to find it for yourself. I did a small one (painting) the first time and then I kept going."
- Helena Butt
Helena was born in Derby in the West Australian Kimberly, and currently resides in Bidyadanga. She frequently visits Parnngurr Community where her Grandmother’s side of the family resides. Helena started painting in her thirties – having believed she was not artistic earlier in life – but she has quickly found and refined her style. Helena uses heavy blending and big brushwork to capture her ancestral homelands Kulyakartu. Kulyakartu is located in the far north of the Martu homelands near the Percival Lakes region of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Helena captures this landscape across the seasons.
Jilji “This one near my countryside. It’s kayili (north) of my Country. Big one Jilji. Lots of tuwa (sandhills). My nana mili (denotes ownership) Country, mama mili, daddy mili Country. They walk around there, get kuwiyi (meat). The old people would cook ’em up! This a pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) Read more…
Waterholes This work depicts a waterhole within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Waterholes are sites that require maintenance, including digging to increase flow, clearing out surrounding growth, and cleaning Read more…
Waterholes This work depicts a waterhole within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Waterholes are sites that require maintenance, including digging to increase flow, clearing out surrounding growth, and cleaning Read more…