Untitled This work portrays an area known to the artist, painted here from memory. During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) era one’s survival depended on their intimate knowledge of the location of resources; thus physical elements of Country, such as sources of kapi (water), tali (sandhills), and different varieties of Read more…
Grandmother’s Country “They [a group of women] were sitting down, one rockhole there. All the bushtucker around.” – Sharon Palmer This story is part of a Jukurrpa story passed onto Sharon by her grandmother, Katjarra Butler. The term Jukurrpa is often translated in English as the ‘dreaming’, or ‘dreamtime’. It refers generally to the period Read more…
My Grandmother’s Way “I’m painting my grandmother’s country, her way. Katjarra style.” – Sharon Palmer This site forms part of Sharon’s ngurra (home Country, camp) through her grandmother, Katjarra Butler. Located east of Kiwirrkurra, on Pintupi country. The Western Desert term ‘ngurra’ is hugely versatile in application. Broadly denoting birthplace and belonging, ngurra can refer to a Read more…
My Grandmother’s Way “I’m painting my grandmother’s country, her way. Katjarra style.” – Sharon Palmer This site forms part of Sharon’s ngurra (home Country, camp) through her grandmother, Katjarra Butler. Located east of Kiwirrkurra, on Pintupi country. The Western Desert term ‘ngurra’ is hugely versatile in application. Broadly denoting birthplace and belonging, ngurra can refer to a Read more…
Parnngurr “We were climbing Parnngurr hill; we were frightened. Kartiya (Europeans) would walk around, trying to catch Martu people. We would run up the hill and hide. We watched them catch people. We were eating flour that white people gave us. It was horrible. From [Parnngurr rockhole], we got in 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…
Wantili “Wantili is my place, where I was born. It’s a place where everyone was living- it’s all of their ngurra (home Country, camp). It’s the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) of that place. All those claypans, a place where everyone comes together for ceremony and gatherings, all meeting with different families. I went there with 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…
Puntawarri lakes and clouds “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. Read more…
Kulyakartu Kulyakartu is a large area in the far north of the Martu homelands, near the Percival Lakes region of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Kulyakartu is mostly flat grass Country, and is known as a good hunting area. In particular, parnajarrpa (goanna), wild cats, and lunki (witchetty grub) are Read more…