114581961974
My Country
My country way out in the desert I left long time ago
Categories: Mangkaja Arts
Name: Rosie Tarku King
Language: Walmajarri
Community: Mindi Rardi
Biography:
I was born at a jumu [soak water] called Payinjarra in the Great Sandy Desert. I walked out from the desert with my husband when I was a young girl. I left my mother and brother Kumanjayi [deceased] Pijaju behind at Japingka. My husband had two wives, my older sister and myself. These two passed away a long time ago, here in the river country at Brooking Springs Station.
When we left the desert we walked for a long time, it was a long way. We were walking and hunting. We killed pussycat and wirlka [sand goanna] for food but no kangaroo. I was walking, all the time worrying about my mother but I kept going. My husband and my sister were both cheeky, they hit me for no reason. I was crying for my mother. I got away from them once, they were too cheeky to me and telling me, “come on you have to go”. I told them, “No, I want to go back to my mother”. They kept telling me “No, you have to keep going”.
I was frightened but I came out at Old Bililluna. There were planes landing right there, I was frightened of that plane. From there, all of us kids went walking and looking at the plane that had landed. I didn’t know any English, I just looked at the kartiya [Europeans]. We kept going and we saw kartiya getting water in a bucket from a well. This was new to me too, it was the ?rst time I had seen this
We had no shoes, we were wearing yakapiri [old people long ago in the desert they used to make sandals to protect feet from the hot ground]. I talked only Juwaliny when I came but today I speak Juwaliny, Walmajarri, Kriol and English. After that, a motor car came from Moola Bulla to Old Bililluna and took us to Moola Bulla. We came out there, frightened in the car, we hadn’t seen one before. We didn’t know anyone there either. I met Munmurria Daisy Andrews there and her first son. I didn’t know her before then.
PAINTING THEMES:
Jila [living waterhole], jilji [sand hills] and jumu [soakwater waterhole] in the Great Sandy Desert: Wajampajarti jumu, Kalajita jumu, Japingka jila
Trees, grasses and ?owers
SOLO EXHIBITION:
2008: All The Walnut Trees Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2009: Mangkaja Artists 60x60 Randell Lane Fine Art, WA
2009: East Meets West Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, NT
2009: Sharing Difference on Common Ground Holmes a Court Gallery, Perth, QLD Kimberley Aboriginal Artists
2009: Eva Nargoodah with Rosie Tarco King Tunbridge Gallery, Margaret River, WA
2009: Shalom Gamarada Caspary Conference Centre, University of NSW
2009: Senior Artists from Fitzroy Crossing Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2009: Mangkaja Survey Show Short St Gallery, Broome, WA
2009: Emerging and Re-emerging Outstation, Darwin, NT
2008: Bendi Lango The Indigenous Scholarship Fund,
Sydney and Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2008: Wet n’ Wild Artkelch, Freiburg, Germany
2008: The Canning Stock Route Project Beijing International Olympic
Committee Expo, China
2008: Shalom Gamarada Caspary Conference Centre, University of NSW
2008: Palya Art in Melbourne The Barn, Melbourne, VIC
2008: Women On Country Suzanne O’Connell Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2008: Waterholes and Bush Tucker Bridget McDonald Hampton Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2007: Bendi Lango The Indigenous Scholarship Fund,
Sydney and Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2007: Mangkaja Artists WA Randell Lane Fine Art, Perth, WA
2007: Living Water Randell Lane Fine Art, Perth, WA
2007: X Marks the Spot Woolloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
2007: Jila, Jilji and Miyi Cool-Art, Sunshine Coast, QLD
2007: Women Artists of Fitzroy Crossing Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT
2006: Depth and Divergence Cullity Gallery, UWA, Perth, WA
2006: Mangkaja Group Show Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2005: Women’s Show Gallery Gondwana
2005: Surprise; Cory & Friends ReDot Gallery, Singapore
2005: Short on Size Short St Gallery, Broome, WA
2005: Mangkaja Artists Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2005: True Colours - Recent works from Queensland College of Art Gallery,
Fitzroy Crossing Grif?th University, QLD
EXHIBITIONS:
2005: Mangkaja Artists Glad?y Gallery, Perth, WA
2005: Too Much Good Work Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT
2004: Tarku & Murungkurr Gad?y Gallery, Perth, WA
2004: Mangkaja Group Representation Raft Artspace, Melbourne Art Fair, VIC
2004: Mangkaja Group Exhibition Gad?y Gallery, Perth, WA
2003: Fitzroy Fusion Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT
2002: Short on Size Short St Gallery, Broome, WA
2001: Short on Size Short St Gallery, Broome
PUBLIC ART:
2008: Fitzroy Valley Education Centre – panels project
COLLECTIONS:
National Museum of Australia Fitzroy Crossing High School Fitzroy Crossing Hospital
PUBLICATIONS:
2009: Kimberley Aboriginal Artists
Sharing Difference on Common Ground
2005: Exhibition catalogue: Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
Mangkaja Artists
2005: Exhibition catalogue: ReDot Gallery, Singapore
Surprise; Cory and Friends
2004: For Melbourne Art Fair
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