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Published by CompNet Systems on

Ikarka – Spotted Bowerbird

When I was a little kid me and my family used to go hunting for tjala (honey ants) in the bush and we used to see a lot of ikarka under the mulga trees. The birds were collecting snails and little shiny things like glass, necklace, anything that shines, sometimes even money.  Those birds collect anything and everything that’s pretty.

Ikarka have a big nest in the long grass and they sit in the middle. They hide the shiny things under the snail shells. We used to move the snails and find the things they’ve hidden. Dad always said ‘go and play in the bush and you might get lucky’ and I did, I found $1 and $2 coins.

 

Categories: Ernabella Arts Inc.

Name: Marissa Angapiya Thompson

Language: Pitjantjatjara

Community: Pukatja

Biography:

Marissa was born in 1985 and grew up between her family's homeland and Ernabella. She attended Kenmore Park Anangu School. Her father was an integral part of the APY Land Rights Movement, and her mother, Carlene Thompson is a former Ernabella Arts chairwoman and a senior Ernabella artist. Marissa has four sisters, three of whom are also practising artists at the art centre. She has two young children with her partner.

Marissa completed her first painting at Ernabella Arts in 2007 and her first ceramic work in 2009. She was an integral part of the first two workshops at Ernabella of the Indigenous Jewellery Project. Her jewellery work incorporates resin, traditional timber carvings and designs cast in silver. Her jewellery was exhibited at the Jam Factory as part of the Tarnanthi Festival in 2015.  

Marissa’s artistic style in both ceramics and painting is incredibly precise. Her work often depicts tatgu (gumnuts), kurparu (magpies), tjanpi (grass) and sometimes branches out into minyma inma (womens ceremony), tadpoles, the rainbow serpent and maku (witchetty grubs). Marissa is also a skilled ceramic hand builder.

Marissa's ceramics continue to be exhibited throughout Australia and overseas including Belgium and Macau in 2021.

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