Walytja (family): Martu kinship and family In the heart of central Western Australia, the Martu people are the traditional owners of a vast landscape stretching from the Great Sandy Desert in the north to Wiluna in the south. Across this Country, their lives are bound by a common ancestral heritage, Read more…
Jartuti “Jartuti water place east of Parnngurr. In pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) days old people walked and hunted there, we went there recently with KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa) ranger mob, lovely place.” – Beverley Rogers Jartuti is a water source located close to Parnngurr Aboriginal Community (otherwise known as Cotton Creek), and Read more…
Ngurra (home Country, camp) “It’s their home for them, real ngurra (home Country, camp). Real ngurra is where they been born and grow up.” – Corban Clause Williams The Western Desert term ‘ngurra’ is hugely versatile in application. Broadly denoting birthplace and belonging, ngurra can refer to a body of Read more…
Two little birds at Kunawarritji Kunawarritji is an important site in the Great Sandy Desert where multiple stories and histories intersect. Originally a spring water and major Martu pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) camping site, at the turn of the 20th century Kunawarritji was converted into a well along the Canning Read more…
Punmu Waterholes Punmu refers to a region and an Aboriginal community within its vicinity, located 670km North-East of Newman. Created during the return to Country movement of the 1980s, with the recognition of Martu land rights and native title, the community was named after a nearby Jukurrpa (Dreaming) story. Punmu Read more…
Punmu Waterholes Punmu refers to a region and an Aboriginal community within its vicinity, located 670km North-East of Newman. Created during the return to Country movement of the 1980s, with the recognition of Martu land rights and native title, the community was named after a nearby Jukurrpa (Dreaming) story. Punmu Read more…
Wildflowers This work depicts the remarkably diverse flora found through Martu Country. These plants are not only vital as significant food sources, but also celebrated for their aesthetic splendour. In the context of the often harsh and arid environments in which desert flowers bloom, their vibrancy, delicacy, and variation become even Read more…
Tuwa (sandhills) “I do tuwa (sandhill) in my own style because that’s our Country. That’s a sandhill, that’s the Dreaming- the Jukurrpa. That’s our culture. They stay there and we go through the sandhills at Puntawarri in the car. We go first tuwa, then the second tuwa, looking for the Read more…
Yarnkarl My Mum and my Dad, they passed now, but when they alive they been showing me what, where, to paint. Showing me the places they been growin’ ‘im up and visiting. These our family places. – Damien Miller Yarnkarl is a claypan, creek Read more…
Kaalpa (Kalypa, Canning Stock Route Well 23) “From Tiwa (Canning Stock Route Well 26) we used to travel to Kaalpa (Kalypa, Canning Stock Route Well 23), mummy and daddy used to take us around there, [my sister] Pinyirr and me. From Kaalpa we would go to Jilkupuka (Canning Stock Route Read more…