Untitled “When Martu paint, it’s like a map. Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where people used to walk, and [some you] can’t cross, like boundaries. So nowadays you see Read more…
Yawkyawk Yawkyawk is a word in the Kunwinjku/Kunwok language of Western Arnhem Land meaning ‘young woman’ and ‘young woman spirit being’. The different groups of Kunwinjku people (one of the Eastern dialect groups call themselves Kuninjku) each have Yawkyawk mythologies, which relate to specific locations in clan estates. These mythologies Read more…
Coil Basket Coiling technique was introduced in the 1920s at Goulburn Island to the Maung people by missionaries and quickly spread to the mainland. Many artists produce coiled baskets of varied shapes, ranging from small round baskets to large oval baby baskets made from dyed pandanus. Artists combine colours and Read more…
Jima Jima (Waterlily) Jimi jima is one of Tommy Gondorra Steele’s personal dreamings. It is similar to what is commonly known as a waterlily (monochoria australasica). Jimi jima is mainly associated with a waterhole named Yalija, but also other sacred waterholes in the Wurdeja area. Tommy’s painting of jima jima Read more…
Warralong Doreen first learned to paint alongside her mother, beginning her artistic career with Martumili Artists in March 2009 when she and the other women of Punmu painted a large collaborative artwork to raise funds for the community. Doreen is now an established artist in her own right, known for Read more…
Bamagora A ‘bamagora’ is a Burarra word for a traditional woven tent-like structure. A bamagora was woven to create a shelter for a child or adult when sleeping.
Wyarra Wayarra/Wyarra is a spirit in the darkness that makes people very frightened. It is unseen but you feel scared when he is near you. It is something that you can’t normally see; but you can see skeleton shapes of the Wayarra/Wyarra if you are a witch doctor. It floats Read more…
Untitled This painting portrays physical elements of Martu Country, such as the dominant tali (sandhills), warta (trees, vegetation), and water sources. Rock holes, waterholes, soaks and springs were all extremely important sites for Martu people during the pujiman (nomadic bush) era, with many important jukurrpa (dreamtime stories) chronicling the creation Read more…
Chinaman Pool This work depicts a waterhole within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Waterholes are sites that require maintenance, including digging to increase flow, clearing out surrounding growth, and cleaning up after sullying by camels or cattle. During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, Read more…
80 Mile Tuwa The traditional lands of the Martu people encompass the Great Sandy Desert and Rudall River regions of Western Australia, an enormous tract dominated by distinctive red tali, or tuwa (sandhills). These sandhills present an unforgiving landscape; sparse vegetation covers a seemingly never ending expanse of dunes, and Read more…