Warla (Lake) “Lake and in the middle is water.” – Julie-Anne Thomas This work depicts a warla (lake) within the artists’ ngurra (home Country, camp), typically represented with circular forms. As a reliable source of water in the often harsh and arid Martu lands, warla represented important sites not only Read more…
Punmu Tuwa (Sandhills) 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. The traditional 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…
Bush Tucker “That’s like a bush tomato and the Karlkula (bush banana) and the leaves. These bush foods are all around Wiluna area. Many kinds of fruit. The dots around it are bush potatoes and little flowers. And that the ladies sitting around.” – Marlene Anderson Depicted in this Read more…
Wirlarra (Wilarra) Wirlarra, the site depicted in this painting, lies on the eastern edge of a large salt lake, Nyayartakujarra (Lake Dora), near Punmu Aboriginal community. A distinctive group of small salt water pools are clustered together here. The water from these pools is known for its’ powerful healing properties, Read more…
Pitu (Separation Well) “I paint Pitu because my father come[s] from Pitu and all the rest of the family, they belong to there. Family hear the stories all the time from Jakayu [Biljabu]. It’s their connection to that place. All the old people were walking through that area, aunty Jakayu was Read more…
Pitu (Separation Well) “I paint Pitu because my father come[s] from Pitu and all the rest of the family, they belong to there. Family hear the stories all the time from Jakayu [Biljabu]. It’s their connection to that place. All the old people were walking through that area, aunty Jakayu was 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…
Kaalpa (Kalypa, Canning Stock Route Well 23) “Kaalpa (Kalypa, Canning Stock Route Well 23) is my grandfather’s Country. There’s a waterhole there, Kaalpa waterhole. It’s my two pops’ Country. They been walking around, hunting around Kaalpa. You can see a yapu (rock), warla (lake), claypans, karru (creek) and tuwa (sandhills) there. It’s on the [Canning] Stock Route, it’s Read more…