Punmu waterholes “Punmu, I went there when I was a young girl, a teenager with my mother and father before my mother passed. Big mob of people was there. No building, just little cubby houses [bough shelters]. Long time I been there. These here are the waterholes around Punmu; Rawa Read more…
Mungili Rockholes “Mungili rock hole, big rock hole, big country. I never see that place. My mother born, her and grandmother walk through there, they tell me story. Mother born there in the Country Mungili, walking through the bush. There is a camping spot, camping in bush – bush, bush, Read more…
Nyurnma 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 fire scars are Read more…
Untitled This work portrays an area known intimately 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 Read more…
Mungili Rockholes “Mungili rock hole, big rock hole, big country. I never see that place. My mother born, her and grandmother walk through there, they tell me story. Mother born there in the Country Mungili, walking through the bush. There is a camping spot, camping in bush – bush, bush, Read more…
Punmu “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 here. Read more…
Tuwa in Puntawarri “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 Read more…
Bush Tucker 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 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…
Waterholes This work depicts a waterhole within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. Waterholes are sites that require maintenance, including digging to increase flow, clearing out surrounding growth, and cleaning up after sullying by camels or cattle. During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) period, knowledge Read more…