Hammer head shark often hunts alone during the day for its next meal. I created the shark to blend in with the coral reef beneath, to indicate its stealthy prowess. I ultimately decided to create 2 paintings to emphasise the shark being ‘alone’ as there isn’t any other wild life activity.
Art Center Notes:
This artwork is a Mix medium Painting on Canvas using Medium Gloss, Posca Pens, acrylic paint and black pastels.
Image Size: 60 x 60cm
Jeffrey paints his favourite birds that live in the country around Ernabella. These include the kuparu (magpie), partilpa (Port Lincoln ringed neck parrot), kayarkiyarpa (galah), tjintir-tjintirpa (willy wag-tail), piil-piilpa (yellow throated minor) and kuurkuurpa (owls).
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My father’s place is Mt. Liebe, sandhill country. The Wanapi rests there under the surface of the creek. When we go to visit that country, the Wanapi stirs underneath the ground and bubbles rise up in the water. He is there to protect that place. We speak to that Wanapi in our language and he knows then that it is us. It’s okay for us to be there and the bubbles settle back down. Close to this creek is where the Arkaryi women are sitting. This is an important women’s site. I can’t speak too much about that, as it would be dangerous to disturb those women.
Traditionally, Nganiyal (conical mats) were used as an insect screen when erected, and as a sitting mat when folded. They are used in Ceremony as well as a functional item.
Nowadays, artists weave many different shapes including flat, round and oblong.
Kungkarangkalpa means the Seven Sisters. This is an extensive creation story that relates to the Pleiades constellation in the southern hemisphere. The story traverses Australia taking on different forms, however local women are privy to the part of the story which takes place in the country near Ernabella. For this part of the story, the man called Nyiru is chasing the sisters as he wants to sleep with the oldest sister. All the younger sisters are deeply afraid of him. As Nyiru is chasing the sisters, he tries to catch them by using magic to turn himself into the most tempting bush tomatoes for the sisters to eat and the most beautiful ili (fig) tree for the sisters to camp under. However, the sisters are aware of his magic and go hungry and run through the night rather than be caught by Nyiru. Eventually, to escape Nyiru, the sisters fly into the sky where they turn into stars and form the constellation.
“This painting is of pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) [people]. It’s around Parnngurr area. The men are getting ready to go hunting. There’s dingoes; Pujiman would get ’em as a little baby and raise ’em up to keep as hunting dogs. [There’s] Kids staying home, and women too. Shade is made from spinifex. Not much of a shelter but to keep the heat away.”
– Noreena Kadibil
Depicted in this work is a scene of everyday pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) life at Parnngurr rockhole as communicated to Noreena by her parents and grandparents. Parnngurr rockhole is located just south of Parnngurr Aboriginal community. At the junction of three linguistic groups; Manyjilyjarra, Kartujarra, and Warnman, it was a critical and permanent source of water during the pujiman era that supported many ritual large gatherings. During this nomadic period families stopped and camped here depending on the seasonal availability of water and the corresponding cycles of plant and animal life on which hunting and gathering bush tucker was reliant. At Parnngurr and other similarly important camp sites families would meet for a time before moving to their next destination. Parnngurr and its surrounds are physically dominated by distinctively red tali (sandhills), covered sparingly with spinifex and low lying shrub.
Parnngurr is also important site chronicled in the epic Jukurrpa (Dreaming) story of the Minyipuru (Jakulyukulyu, Seven Sisters). The sisters stopped to rest on Parnngurr Hill before continuing on their long journey east. Minyipuru is a central Jukurrpa narrative for Martu, Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people that is associated with the seasonal Pleiades star constellation.
It is of great significance to the creative output of Martumili Artists that some of the last of the remaining pujimanpa (traditional, desert dwellers) comprise a high portion of the core elders that paint with the group. Through these elders critical traditional cultural and social knowledge has been, and continues to be, passed on to younger Martu artists; knowledge from the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) era. At this time Martu traversed very large distances annually in small family groups, moving seasonally from water source to water source, and hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went.
Whilst desert life has moved away from mobile hunter-gatherer subsistence throughout the course of the twentieth century, all Martumili Artists, young and old, have regular experience of the practices that most closely approximate the pujiman lifestyle. Living between Newman and the remote Martu communities of Punmu, Parnngurr, Kunawarritji, Jigalong, Irrungadji (Nullagine) and Warralong, knowledge of Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives, kapi (water) location and quality, and the medicinal properties of native plants, as well as the continued practices of hunting, gathering, and waru (fire) burning are all transferred to younger generations as integral components of everyday life.
In addition to strong cultural and social maintenance through life in Aboriginal communities, cultural knowledge is transferred through visual arts as practiced by Martumili Artists. Younger Martu artists typically begin painting with their parents, grandparents and extended family, thus fostering an organic process of learning, not only about painting techniques, but also specific locations, family histories, traditional ways of life, bush tucker and Jukurrpa.
“Old station still running, cattle station near Newman – we used to go out there looking for Goanna the boss used to let us go out there, hunting.”- Noreena Kadibil
This design is murnun (dugong). Josephine grew up on the coastal area of Maningrida. She is a Kunibidji woman, a Gurgoni and Ndjébbana language speaker.
‘In the olden times they used to go on canoe to look for murnun (dungong), fish (yokkara) ,turtle (makéddja) and stingray (marnan djupa (sp?)). They used a spear and net during the day and sometimes at night. The fishermen were mostly men. I remember my grandfather used to go hunting, that’s Joy’s (Garlbin) father. HIs name was Jimmy. We used to go out with him on the boat to kill makéddja (turtle) and murnun (dugong) for yalaba (bush tucker).
This design is murnun (dugong). Josephine grew up on the coastal area of Maningrida. She is a Kunibidji woman, a Gurgoni and Ndjébbana language speaker.
‘In the olden times they used to go on canoe to look for murnun (dungong), fish (yokkara) ,turtle (makéddja) and stingray (marnan djupa (sp?)). They used a spear and net during the day and sometimes at night. The fishermen were mostly men. I remember my grandfather used to go hunting, that’s Joy’s (Garlbin) father. HIs name was Jimmy. We used to go out with him on the boat to kill makéddja (turtle) and murnun (dugong) for yalaba (bush tucker).
“My Country, Kulyakartu. I grew up there, from little boy to big boy grew up there.”
– Muuki Taylor
This painting depicts Kulyakartu, Muuki’s ngurra (home Country, camp). Kulyakartu is located in the far north of the Martu homelands, near the Percival Lakes region of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Muuki has extensive knowledge of the Country in this region, where he grew up living traditionally during the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) days with his family. Kulyakartu is mostly grass Country where there is very good hunting. In particular parnajarrpa (goanna), wild cats, and lunki (witchetty grub) are found in abundance here. There is no permanent water source in Kulyakartu, so Muuki’s family would walk here annually following the wantajarra (wet season). During the yalijarra (hot, dry season) they would head south again to more permanent water.
Muuki paints Kulyakartu in all its different seasonal stages. Often visible in his work is the patchwork nature of regrowth subsequent to the practice of waru (fire) burning that assists with hunting, regenerates growth, and encourages greater diversity in plant and animal life. This mosaic patterning is aligned with the five distinct Martu cyclical phases of burning and regrowth. First is nyurnma (freshly burnt Country) when Muuki is “making waru”. Following nyurnma are the rains and subsequent waru-waru, when young, bright green plants start to grow. Nyukura occurs between one and three years after burning, when plants have matured and are fruiting and seeding. Manguu is “when him finished”, four to six years post burning, and when spinifex has matured to the point that it can be burned once again. Finally, kunarka signifies the time when spinifex and other plant species have become old growth, and pose a risk of destructive bushfires.