Punmu tuwakaja “This area here is our Country. It’s our Country right here. We returned to our Country with a Toyota and a grader that made the road. A grader right up to here. Punmu is a good place. It’s a happy place to live. My spirit feels good living Read more…
Untitled Depicted in this work are traditional types of bush tucker, their habitats, and their related hunting and gathering methods. During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, Martu would traverse very large distances annually in small family groups, moving seasonally from water source to water source, and hunting and gathering Read more…
Untitled KARLAYA (EMU) Depicted in this work are karlaya (emus); large, flightless birds endemic to Australia, and found across the whole country. Emus have been hunted by Martu people as a source of bush tucker from the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) era through to today. Typically emus were tracked Read more…
Bilby Mankarr (Greater Bilby) is a type of desert-dwelling omnivore, found in a range of habitats from rocky soils, shrublands, woodlands and spinifex regions. Its fur is usually grey or white, and has a long, sharp nose and long pinkish ears. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, there Read more…
Untitled “Those three animals we protect them now. The old people use to eat the animals and we’re working with the KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrp Ranger) mob to protect them. The top one (Mangkarr) is taller than this one (middle – Nurta). This one (Nurta) is stumpy like a guinea pig. Read more…
Bilby in the flower season time “Those three animals we protect them now. The old people use to eat the animals and we’re working with the KJ (Kanyirninpa Jukurrp Ranger) mob to protect them. The top one (Mangkarr) is taller than this one (middle – Nurta). This one (Nurta) is Read more…
Wings “Feathers with many colours. Red cockatoo, yellow and white. They come in different colours but are one big family.” – Charlie Gilligan “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 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…
Kulyakartu- Muuki Taylor “My Country, Kulyakartu. I grew up there, from little boy to big boy grew up there.” – Muuki Taylor This painting depicts Kulyakartu, Muuki’s ngurra (home Country, camp). Kulyakartu is located in the far north of the Martu homelands, near the Percival Lakes region of Western Australia’s Great Read more…
Sand in the desert “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 Read more…