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Linyji

This work depicts a linyji (claypan) within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Claypans were visited more often during the wet seasons as they filled with water. 

During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, knowledge of water sources was critical for survival, and today Martu Country is still defined in terms of the location and type of water. Each of the hundreds of claypans, rockholes, waterholes, soaks and springs found in the Martu desert homelands is known through real life experience and the recounting of Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives by name, location, quality and seasonal availability. This encyclopedic knowledge extends even to the nature and movement of arterial waterways, and sustained Martu as they travelled across their Country, hunting and gathering, visiting family, and fulfilling ceremonial obligations. They would traverse very large distances annually, visiting specific areas in the dry and wet season depending on the availability of water and the corresponding cycles of plant and animal life on which hunting and gathering bush tucker was reliant.

Categories: Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

Name: Curtis Taylor

Language: Manyjilyjarra

Community: Parnngurr

Biography:

Curtis Taylor is a Martu artist and filmmaker who grew up between Aboriginal communities  Bidyadanga in the Kimberley and Parnngurr in the Pilbara. He comes from a strong lineage of cultural and artistic leaders, including his grandparents Wokka Taylor (dec.) and Kanu (Karnu) Nancy Taylor (dec.), and his parents Desmond Taylor and Colleen Jadai (dec.).

Raised between remote desert communities and Perth, Curtis was immersed in traditional Martu knowledge while also navigating a Western education. This dual experience laid the foundation for his distinctive practice, which explores Martu experience in a contemporary world and engages with themes of identity, language, cultural practice and responsibility. After completing school in 2008, Curtis worked as a Community Coordinator and Youth Development Officer at Martu Media, a division of Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ), and later began formal studies in film and media at Murdoch University in Perth.

Working across film, sculpture, installation and painting, Curtis has developed a practice that speaks powerfully across generations. Central to his work is the use of Martu Wangka, both to preserve language and to reach younger audiences. He is known for his collective approach to filmmaking, often working alongside collaborators and providing opportunities for community members to build skills and explore storytelling. His film projects include Collisions with Emmy Award-winning artist Lynette Wallworth, and collaborations with fellow filmmakers Ishmael Marika and Nathan Mewett. 

Curtis’s work has been exhibited widely across Australia and internationally, including at The National: New Australian Art at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; the Sydney Film Festival; Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts; Fremantle Arts Centre; and Furtherfield Gallery in London. He is a key figure in major projects such as Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route, We don’t need a map, and In Cahoots, which celebrate the strength and continuity of Martu culture today.

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