Jila (snake, living water) “Four jila, waterhole in the middle there. One goes North, another one South way. Another one this way West, this one East. They went seperate. From the desert to the sea.” – Graham Mintern The Western Desert term jila is used interchangeably to describe springs considered Read more…
Pipijarli (Calandrinia sp.) “That’s a [painting of a] flower, a purple one like that. It grows everywhere on the plain, it’s a wild yam, like a mata (bush potato).” Lynne Charles Pipijarli is a species of plant native to Western Australia, commonly found throughout the Pilbara region. The species thrives Read more…
Spinifex country & Quoll Tracks Martu Country is dominated by striking permanent tali (sandhills) covered with spinifex, gums, and other trees and shrubs. Spinifex is a pale green, spiky grass that grows in clumps throughout the Central and Western Deserts of Australia. Some varieties yield edible seeds and another contains a resin. Read more…
Kukapanyu “My home, I grow up there. Me and my families. Kukapunyu is a yinta (permanent spring). We camp there. When it rains [we] go to Wajaparni rock hole. Old people- my dad, my mummy go out early morning hunting around there. Get parnajarrpa (sand goanna), lunki (witchetty grub), pussy cat. Get the dingo, baby one, Read more…
Windy Corner ‘My Dad’s Country’ Martumili Artists work with over three hundred artists from remote Martu Aboriginal communities, including Punmu, Parnngurr, Kunawarritji, Jigalong, Irrungadji (Nullagine), and Warralong, as well as from the Parnpajinya (Newman) gallery and studio spaces. Known for their diverse, energetic, and unmediated painting styles, their works reflect Read more…
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…
Kumpupirntily (Kumpupintily, Lake Disappointment) “Clouds here. It’s dry, no water, but still flowers grow.” – Helen Dale Samson Kumpupirntily (Kumpupintily, Lake Disappointment) is a stark, flat and unforgiving expanse of blinding salt lake surrounded by sand hills, located in the Little Sandy and Gibson Desert of Western Australia. Kumpupirntily translates to Read more…
Puntawarri House “All around is sandhills and lakes on every side. You can see the grass, but the lakes are all dry. In the middle is Puntawarri waterhole. That’s the jila (snake) place, two jila. They nyupa (spouses), they darlings, man and woman. They sleeping near to Puntawarri. It’s a Read more…
Wanti Yuu (Women, Yeah!) “Wanti Yuu (Woman Yeah!) is a story of resilience and of women coming together. It is about the strength of the women in our community who put themselves last and take on a lot. She [Wanti Yuu] is someone who looks after her family, putting the Read more…
