Nyurnma (Freshly Burnt Country) Martu artists paint Country in all it’s different seasonal stages. Important to Martu, and to Martu Country, is the practice of waru (fire burning); a practice that assists with hunting, regenerates growth, and encourages greater diversity in plant and animal life. When Martu Country burns, mosaic Read more…
Nyurnma (Freshly Burnt Country) “This the waru [fire], points to orange area and this is nyurnma [burnt country] points to aqua area, here manguu [country ready for burning] points to small pink section.” -Muuki Taylor The practice of fire burning continues to be used today through the Martu homelands. Over thousands Read more…
Kumpupirntily & Durba Springs 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 ‘bladder burst’; the lake was formed when the bladder of the Jila Kujarra Read more…
Artefact Here Charlie has painted carved artefacts. Martu have been carving objects out of wood for as long as they have carved a life out of the desert. Kurlata (spears), woomera (spear throwers), pilpin (clubs), jurna (hitting sticks), jara (shields), karli (boomerangs), wana (digging-sticks), and piti (timber bowls used for carrying food and water) were the principal technologies of survival in the desert ecology. These 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…
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…
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…
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…
Mungili Waterholes “I was swimming there. Yeah, we go visit them a long time [ago]. We drink it, rain water from the rain. Big waterhole. It’s a fresh water, when the rain comes, fills it up. One for swimming and another rock hole for drinking.” – Marlene Anderson In this Read more…
Untitled How did you get to this style of painting? “Do you mean, what have I done with my life? (chuckles to herself) To me these paintings are a sense of energy. So if I see someone and they’re happy, I paint a happy vibe. Cos their spirit is happy. Read more…