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Kulyakartu

“I paint about Kulyukartu. It’s my grandmother’s Country. I love painting about that Country. I went on a trip doing fire burning, cleaning the waterholes, and walking around looking where my grandmothers carved the rocks and things. I went with my mum Emily, and SJ (Nuriah Jadai). You turn before 80 Mile Beach and just go straight.

I feel good when I’m there — it feels like home when I paint it. I learnt to paint from my grandfather (Wokka Taylor, dec.). When we went to 33 (Kunawarritji, Well 33) and back to Punmu, we were just watching them. He told me to get a brush, and then he told me to start painting. I think him and Dunjan (Thelma Judson) were painting a big one, and I came to help him. He told me, ‘One day you should go to Kulyukartu,’ and so I went there.”
 – Kiarah Mandijalu-Jadai

This artwork shares the story of Kulyakartu, a vast and peaceful area north-east of the community, on the edge of Nyangumarta and Martu Country. Kulyakartu is a place of wide open skies, long claypans, sandhills and soft grasses that come alive after rain.

Families remember camping there, visiting waterholes, looking for goanna and bush foods, watching birds, and travelling with old people who knew every dune, track and soak. The painting celebrates the beauty and calm of Kulyakartu, often shown through soft lines and dots that follow the movement of water and sand. It honours the knowledge of where to find water, how to move across Country, and the deep belonging felt when returning to ancestral places.

Through this work, the artist invites viewers to feel that stillness and connection — the strength of Country, memory and family.

Categories: Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community LaGrange Inc

Name: Kiarah Mandijalu - Jadai

Language: Mangala

Biography:

“I’m from Bidyadanga, and I grew up here and in Parnngurr. I used to travel up and down. In Parnngurr, I lived with my grandparents (Wokka Taylor, dec. and Nancy Taylor, dec.). Mostly the families there were looking after us, and then we’d come back here, looking after my mum and going fishing.

I started painting with Martumili (Martumili Artists), but before I began painting, I used to ask the old people first. I learnt to paint from my grandfather (Wokka Taylor, dec.). When we went to 33 and back to Punmu, we were just watching them. He told me to get a brush, and then he told me to start painting. I think him and Dunjan (Thelma Judson) were painting a big one, and I came to help him. He told me, ‘One day you should go to Kulyukartu,’ and so I went there.

I paint bush flowers, the waterholes, the sand dunes, and the colours I use are like the desert colours — and a bit of ocean colours too.

My sister told me to come to a workshop in Derby to keep her company, and the next thing I was holding a camera. From there, I just kept going on the trips with Sarah and Carly (from Camera Story). We went to 80 Mile Beach and did a workshop there. I like taking photos of people and things.”
– Kiarah Madnijalu‑Jadai

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© the artist / art centre