Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

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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…

Wildflowers on the Canning “When they were laying out the Canning Stock Route, whitefellas used to get Martu people to show them where the permanent water was. The whitefellas was asking Martu people to show them permanent water, like soaks and rockholes, for a shortcut from Wiluna to Billiluna. When Read more…

Untitled This work portrays an area known intimately to the artist, painted here in exquisite detail 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), Read more…

Jila (snake, living water) “Snake lives there in the salt and comes from Mandora – inside the salt, and travels underground. Hide him out and goes underneath in the direction of the spring country from Mandora and Bidgydanga, in the direction of the coast. He is underground, same like jila[snake]. You Read more…

Wantili (Warntili, Canning Stock Route Well 25) “Bugai always tells about Wantili (Warntili, Canning Stock Route Well 25) because she grew up around Wantili. Her family would travel between Wantili, Kaalpa, Juntu-juntu, Raarki, and Wuranu Wells along the Canning Stock Route. She paints around Wantili. She saw whitefellas there for Read more…

Kiriwirri “We went to 3 places with KJ Parnngurr and Punmu ranger mob.  We had USB in the cars with stories on them talking about country, listening.  My Dad’s Uncle telling those stories when he was a little boy.  Telling Pujiman   (traditional, desert dwelling) stories.  Kiriwirri [points to centre of Read more…

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Wilarra “Two Rockholes other side Punmu- Kayili (North) all the way keep going Kakarra (East), long way. Dingomili ngurra (Dingo’s home). Big one is Willarra. Dingos all stay in that place together, wild one [dingo] became a quiet one. All the dingos come from that place. Make a kuna (faeces), go home. Kirl Kirl (Well 36), Read more…

Wilarra “Two Rockholes other side Punmu- Kayili (North) all the way keep going Kakarra (East), long way. Dingomili ngurra (Dingo’s home). Big one is Willarra. Dingos all stay in that place together, wild one [dingo] became a quiet one. All the dingos come from that place. Make a kuna (faeces), go home. Kirl Kirl (Well 36), Read more…