Kulyakartu; Make a hole there, sing him, water come Country, ngayu mili (my) country. Old people mili country; Martu, Nyangumarta, Warnman, Nyanatjarra people. That’s the area I been born now. Big area, juri (good) country. Plenty warta (shrubs, trees) there, plenty kapi (water). One windmill there too. No tuwa (sandhill) Read more…
Kulijatukujarra 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…
Untitled “This is my country, my little brother was born here in Pujiman times, I was a big girl no man yet. we were walking a long way, in the painting you can see the tali (sand hills) and the burning country.” – Nancy Nyanjilpayi Chapman
Untitled This is Kumpaya’s Country- her ‘ngurra’ (home Country, camp). People identify with their ngurra in terms of specific rights and responsibilities, and the possession of intimate knowledge of the physical and cultural properties of one’s Country. Painting ngurra, and in so doing sharing the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories and physical 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…
Punmu Rockholes “Punmu [community]- 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 cubbie houses (bower shelters). Long time I been there. These here are the waterholes around Punmu. Read more…
Untitled This is Wokka’s Country- his ‘ngurra’ (home Country, camp). People identify with their ngurra in terms of specific rights and responsibilities, and the possession of intimate knowledge of the physical and cultural properties of one’s Country. Painting ngurra, and in so doing sharing the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories and physical Read more…
Untitled This painting portrays physical elements of Martu Country, such as the dominant tali (sandhills), warta (trees, vegetation), and water sources. Rock holes, waterholes, soaks and springs were all extremely important sites for Martu people during the pujiman (nomadic bush) era, with many important jukurrpa (dreamtime stories) chronicling the creation Read more…
Lake Disappointment (Kumpupirntily) This painting depicts Lake Disappointment near Puntawari. Dunes and green grasses surround the large salt lake. Kumpupirntily is one of the most sacred and dangerous sites in the far Western Desert. This is where the Ngayurnangalku (cannibal beings) live beneath the lake, surfacing only to feed on human Read more…