Exposition d’art Aborigène “Between Salt & Ochre — Painting the Sea, Revealing Country (Tiwi)” - Aboriginal art from Australia
En association avec les artistes du centre d’art de Munupi et Jilamara.
A la galerie Aboriginal Signature Estrangin : 101 rue Jules Besme, 1081 Bruxelles.
Vernissage sur RDV le mercredi 22 octobre de 14h30 à 21h30.
A 20h - discours du directeur de la galerie et drink.
RSVP - réserver votre visite
Ensuite la galerie vous reçoit sur RDV, du jeudi 23 octobre septembre au samedi 15 novembre 2025, du mardi au samedi, de 11h à 19h : vous pouvez également réserver votre visite dés à présent dans notre agenda ici.
“Between Salt & Ochre — Painting the Sea, Revealing Country (Tiwi)”
Entre sel et ocre, la mer et la terre respirent d’un même souffle.
Sur les Tiwi Islands, au nord du continent australien, la vie et la création sont indissociables du mouvement des marées, du vent et des cycles lunaires. Ces îles, situées dans l’Arafura Sea, abritent deux centres artistiques — Munupi Arts et Jilamara Arts — où la peinture, la sculpture et la transmission orale s’entrelacent depuis des générations. Ici, peindre, chanter ou sculpter n’est jamais un simple geste esthétique : c’est une manière de maintenir le monde en équilibre, de le réactiver à chaque trait d’ocre.
La mer comme mémoire
La mer, omniprésente, est à la fois origine, passage et résonance. Dans les œuvres de Carol Puruntatameri, le récit de Purrukupali — premier homme endeuillé — s’étend comme une houle mythique : son fils Jinani meurt sous le soleil, sa femme Bima se perd dans les mangroves, et la mer les engloutit à jamais. Trois jours plus tard, son frère Tapara devient la lune. Ce mythe, premier deuil et première métamorphose, est un axe fondateur de la pensée Tiwi.
Peindre la mer, c’est convoquer cette mémoire : la disparition, le retour, le rythme des marées et des lunes qui ne cessent de rejouer le drame de la vie et de la mort.
Delores Tipuamantumirri fait danser les Winga, les vagues qui portent le sable, transforment la côte et redessinent le pays. Dans ses toiles, l’eau n’est pas simple décor : elle est force agissante, souffle qui sculpte le monde et relie les vivants à leurs ancêtres.
Vue de l’exposition à la galerie à Bruxelles © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Munupi Arts.
Les cycles du monde
Chez les Tiwi, tout est cycle : celui des marées, du feu, de la lune, des saisons, et de l’âge humain.
Le Kulama, cérémonie d’initiation et de fertilité, rythme cette continuité entre les êtres et la nature. Lidwina Tepomitari, Tina Patlas et Conrad Kamilowra Tipungwuti évoquent cette fête de la fin des pluies, marquée par l’apparition d’un halo jaune autour de la lune — signe que le temps est venu de chanter, d’appeler les ancêtres, de partager le yam ocre et de le frotter sur les corps. Les cercles concentriques, les points (pwanga) et les croissants qui traversent leurs toiles sont les empreintes visuelles de ces danses cosmiques. Ils traduisent une conception du monde circulaire : le commencement et la fin s’y confondent, comme la mer qui se retire pour mieux revenir.
Peinture de l’artiste Conrad Kamilowra Tipungwuti - Kulama ceremonies - 108 x 37 cm - 103-24. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Arts.
Peinture de l’artiste Kaye Brown - Yirrinkiripwoja (body paint design) - 109 × 41 cm - 499-23. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Arts.
Peinture de l’artiste Timothy Cook - Japarra - 90 x 24 cm - 359-18. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Art
Les corps peints, la loi et la transformation
La peinture Tiwi plonge ses racines dans le corps et le rituel.
Sur les îles, les motifs yirrinkiripwoja — points, lignes, réseaux de hachures — sont appliqués sur les danseurs lors des cérémonies Yoi et Pukumani. Les artistes Christine Puruntatameri, Virginia Galarla, Kaye Brown et Pedro Wonaeamirri perpétuent cette esthétique du corps transformé. Leurs œuvres, réalisées à l’ocre naturelle, rappellent la puissance du geste rituel : peindre, c’est devenir autre, traverser la limite entre visible et invisible. Le mot Pwoja, qui désigne le peigne en bois servant à appliquer les points, signifie aussi “le meilleur” — comme si, dans cette culture, la beauté et la justesse étaient des formes de vérité.
Jacinta Lorenzo reprend les motifs des tutini, poteaux funéraires peints pour le Pukumani, cérémonie d’adieu et de passage. Ces lignes géométriques, héritées d’avant la colonisation, disent la continuité d’un monde où le rituel ne s’est jamais interrompu.
Peinture de l’artiste Pedro Wonaeamirri - Pwoja-Pukumani Body Paint Design - 96 x 39 cm - 444-24. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Jilamara Arts.
Peinture de l’artiste Jacinta Lorenzo - Yirrinkiri Jilamara- 150 x 120 cm - 136-17. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Munupi Arts.
Les éléments — feu, soleil, étoiles
Le feu, Yikwani, joue un rôle essentiel dans la vie Tiwi.
Thecla Bernadette Puruntatameri peint sa lumière et sa chaleur : feu de camp, feu de chasse, feu qui nettoie et régénère la terre.
Dans les récits anciens, c’est Murtankala, la vieille femme des profondeurs, qui fit naître la lumière en frottant deux branches, puis leva la flamme vers le ciel pour créer le soleil (Warnarringa).
Conrad Tipungwuti rend hommage à ce geste primordial, reliant la terre et le ciel, la cendre et la clarté — l’ocre rouge brûlée devenant l’image même du feu originel.
Peinture de l’artiste Thecla Bernadette Puruntatameri - Yikwani - 180 x 120 cm - 23-27. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Munupi Arts.
La nuit, le ciel s’anime d’un autre langage.
Kalisha Lee Austral et Lucinta Puruntatameri peignent Yamparriparri, l’étoile filante, symbole du lien familial et du souvenir.
Elles évoquent les nuits passées à dormir sous les constellations, écoutant les récits des anciens. Dans leur peinture, l’espace cosmique devient un territoire de mémoire et de transmission.
La couleur bleue — modernité introduite avec respect et autorisation des aînés — élargit la palette traditionnelle pour embrasser la profondeur du ciel.
Tisser, protéger, relier
Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri tisse les Pamijini, brassards rituels en pandanus teints de pigments naturels, portés lors des danses.
Ces parures protègent des mapurtiti (esprits) et incarnent la continuité des gestes féminins — la patience, le soin, la relation au pays.
Ici encore, la fibre devient peinture, le tissage devient prière.
Peinture de l’artiste Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri - Ampitji - 90 x 70 cm - 25-68. © Photo : Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery with the courtesy of the artist and Munupi Arts.
Between Salt & Ochre réunit les voix de deux communautés — Munupi et Jilamara — pour offrir une vision unifiée du monde Tiwi : une peinture de la mer, du corps et du cosmos. Les œuvres réunies révèlent la puissance d’une esthétique où chaque forme est porteuse d’histoire, chaque couleur un fragment de terre ou de lumière.
Entre le sel et l’ocre, les artistes Tiwi nous rappellent que créer, c’est se souvenir, transmettre et célébrer la vie qui circule entre les éléments. Peindre la mer, ici, c’est peindre le monde — et dans chaque point d’ocre, dans chaque ligne, résonne le battement du Country.
Découvrez les peintures de l’exposition :
Artiste : Matthew Galarla
Titre de l'œuvre : Kulama Design
Pigments naturels sur écorce d’arbre
Format : 87 x 21 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-251
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
The Kulama design depicts this important ceremony of the Tiwi people; the dancers and singers create a circle and prepare the poisonous yam for eating, as indicated by the circles in the painting. The Kulama ceremony was given to the Tiwi people by the Nyingawi, who are little spirit people (as depicted in Tiwi mythology). It is a celebration of life and food, occurring at the end of the wet season. The Tiwi know when to perform Kulama when the last full moon of the wet season has a yellow halo surrounding it, which tells them that Japarra (the moon man) is ready for it to begin.
Artiste : Delores Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Winga (Tidal Movement / Waves)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 90 x 70 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-198
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
This work depicts the tidal movement of waters in and around the seas and creeks of the Tiwi Islands. Not just influencing fishing and hunting opportunities, the movement of water carries masses of silt and sand, transforming the land and changing the coastal landscape. Winga can also be translated as 'waves', just one part of the changing tides. Tidal surges are at their most powerful when a king tide occurs during the Wet Season, especially during a full moon. Delores has a strong bond to the waters surrounding the Tiwi Islands, forged by a lifetime of memories living encircled within the tides of the Arafura Sea.
Artiste : Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Ampitji
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 70 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-68
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Rainbow Serpent. This is the artists dance.
Artiste : Thecla Bernadette Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Yikwani
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 180 x 120 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-27
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Yikwani is the Tiwi name for fire. An important tool in past and present Tiwi culture, fire is still used for cooking and warmth, especially during the cooler Dry Season nights. It is also used for burning off overgrown vegetation following the heavy 'Wet Season' rains (which covers the period of late Spring through to early Autumn), regenerating and encouraging new growth and aiding in hunting trips.
Artiste : Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Pamijini
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 70 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-67
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Pamijini are ceremonial armbands traditionally worn by both men and women during Tiwi Ceromonies. These armbands offer spiritual protection, helping to ward off mapurtiti (bad spirits) during these important cultural rituals.
A uniquely Tiwi form of ceremonial costume and ornamentation, pamijini are carefully woven and plaited from pandanus leaves. The pandanus is dyed using natural pigments, creating vibrant and earthy tones reflective of the Tiwi environment. Feathers and seeds, are often added as decorative elements.
Artiste : Leon Russell Black
Titre de l'œuvre : Bush Holiday Dreaming
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 x 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-238
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
My paintings are about my country, my landscape, my culture, my family and the Tiwi people of Pirlangimpi and their way of life. In my paintings I speak about going fishing, hunting and gathering. Like going in the mangrove to collect Jukwarringa (Mud Mussels), Kurumpuka (Mud Crabs), Piranga (Long Bum) and Yuwurli (Mangrove Worms). I like going fishing: I am really good at seeing the ripples on the surface of the water, it tells me that the Miputuwi (fishes) are there, and I can spear them really good. The other day I got a really big Barramundi like that. I am a really good fisherman and hunter. My dreaming is Narringarri (Magpie Geese). From my father side my country is Jurrupi (Jessie River) – there are really big oysters there, and in the shallow waters we can get turtles and dugong also. When I was a little boy I went fishing, hunting, and goose shooting with my Dad, he is a really good skipper and I learnt from him. From my mother side my country is Yapalika (Maxwell Creek).
Artiste : Leon Russell Black
Titre de l'œuvre : Bush Holiday Dreaming
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 100 × 100 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-25
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
My paintings are about my country, my landscape, my culture, my family and the Tiwi people of Pirlangimpi and their way of life. In my paintings I speak about going fishing, hunting and gathering. Like going in the mangrove to collect Jukwarringa (Mud Mussels), Kurumpuka (Mud Crabs), Piranga (Long Bum) and Yuwurli (Mangrove Worms). I like going fishing: I am really good at seeing the ripples on the surface of the water, it tells me that the Miputuwi (fishes) are there, and I can spear them really good. The other day I got a really big Barramundi like that. I am a really good fisherman and hunter. My dreaming is Narringarri (Magpie Geese). From my father side my country is Jurrupi (Jessie River) – there are really big oysters there, and in the shallow waters we can get turtles and dugong also. When I was a little boy I went fishing, hunting, and goose shooting with my Dad, he is a really good skipper and I learnt from him. From my mother side my country is Yapalika (Maxwell Creek).
Artiste : Leon Russell Black
Titre de l'œuvre : Bush Holiday Dreaming
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 x 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-99
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
My paintings are about my country, my landscape, my culture, my family and the Tiwi people of Pirlangimpi and their way of life. In my paintings I speak about going fishing, hunting and gathering. Like going in the mangrove to collect Jukwarringa (Mud Mussels), Kurumpuka (Mud Crabs), Piranga (Long Bum) and Yuwurli (Mangrove Worms). I like going fishing: I am really good at seeing the ripples on the surface of the water, it tells me that the Miputuwi (fishes) are there, and I can spear them really good. The other day I got a really big Barramundi like that. I am a really good fisherman and hunter. My dreaming is Narringarri (Magpie Geese). From my father side my country is Jurrupi (Jessie River) – there are really big oysters there, and in the shallow waters we can get turtles and dugong also. When I was a little boy I went fishing, hunting, and goose shooting with my Dad, he is a really good skipper and I learnt from him. From my mother side my country is Yapalika (Maxwell Creek).
Artiste : Kalisha Lee Austral
Titre de l'œuvre : Murantingala & Tapalinga
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 100 × 100 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-190
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Murantingala & Tapalinga Murantingala is the name for the 'morning star', or the planet Venus.Throughout Tiwi history they have used this star as a compass point for navigation and guidance whilst travelling. Tapalinga is the general Tiwi term for a star, or group of stars in the night sky.
Artiste : Carol Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Yipali and Purrukupali
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 150 x 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-92
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
This painting is about Purrukupali and the place Yipali, the beach where he walked with his dead son Jinani. Jinani had died when Purrukupali's wife Wayayi (Bima) and their son Jinani went out searching for food in the mangroves.
While Bima was looking for mussels and things Purrukapli's brother Moonman (Tapara) came down to earth to be with Bima as he was in love with her. She left Jinani in the shade but she stayed away too long and he died in the sun. She did not hear her sun crying for milk and returned to her son too late for Janani had died. As Purrukupali and Jinani cried for their son Tapara came down and asked them if he could take Jinani for three days and heal him. A fight began between
Purrukuparli and Moonman. Purrukuparli won! Tapara got injured on his leg. Three days later the moon came out. It was a new, cresent moon. From the earth, Moonman’s scars on his leg could be seen.
Purrukuparli carried Janani into the ocean at Yipali. They were never to be seen again. Gone forever. Bima cried and cried. He walked onto the beach at Yipali and walked withJinani into the ocean until they both drowned in a whirlpool. When the tide goes out at Yipali you can still see Purrukupali's footprints on the sand
Artiste : Kalisha Lee Austral
Titre de l'œuvre : Yipali and Purrukupali
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 150 x 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-205
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Shooting star is yamparriparri in Tiwi. It is a totem for the Puruntatameri family. When I was a kid during the bush holidays which is in June/July, we often went camping for 4 weeks. That is our time to learn about culture through storytelling and we learnt how to hunt and live on the land. We had no tents so we used to sleep under the stars with all the families. We would tell stories and be looking up into the skies, looking at the stars, satellites and shooting stars. Tapalinga is the general Tiwi term for a star, or group of stars in the night sky.
My paintings of the night sky with stars and shooting stars are remembering the nights I spent with my grandfather and other families camping under the stars. Because I add blue to my night sky paintings I had to get permission from my grandfather to use acrylic blue because it was not a traditional colour. I had to ask him because he was a well respected cultural leader and artist on the Tiwi Islands.
Artiste : Shirley Puruntatameri (Nee Tipungwuti)
Titre de l'œuvre : Pupuni Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 130 x 45 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-220
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of ‘yoi’ (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs. Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). These designs can be applied in different ways, one of which is using the finger, or in this case a brush. Painting of the face also occurs. These significant artistic designs collectively are called ‘Jilamara’.
Artiste : Lidwina (Nina) Tepomitari
Titre de l'œuvre : Kulama Design
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 180 x 120 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-313
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
The Kulama design depicts this important ceremony of the Tiwi people; the dancers and singers create a circle and prepare the poisonous yam for eating, as indicated by the circles in the painting. The Kulama ceremony was given to the Tiwi people by the Nyingawi, who are little spirit people (as depicted in Tiwi mythology). It is a celebration of life and food, occurring at the end of the wet season. The Tiwi know when to perform Kulama when the last full moon of the wet season has a yellow halo surrounding it, which tells them that Japarra (the moon man) is ready for it to begin.
Artiste : Shirley Puruntatameri (Nee Tipungwuti)
Titre de l'œuvre : Pupuni Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur écorce d’arbre
Format : 100 x 31 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-218
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of ‘yoi’ (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs. Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). These designs can be applied in different ways, one of which is using the finger, or in this case a brush. Painting of the face also occurs. These significant artistic designs collectively are called ‘Jilamara’.
Artiste : Lucinta Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Yamparriparri (Puruntatameri shooting star)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 120 x 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-89
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
At night the shooting star ‘Yamparriparri’ is seen in the sky from the land of the Tiwis. Yamparriparri (shooting star) is 10 year old girl Tukuwanyinga, the ancestor of the Puruntatameri family, stretching across the night sky.
Artiste : Kalisha Lee Austral
Titre de l'œuvre : Jilamara Design
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90.7 x 20.1cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-90
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of 'yoi' (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs..
Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits).
These designs can be applied in different ways. Ochre is applied to the body and face. These significant artistic designs collectively are called 'Jilamara'.
Artiste : Lucinta Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Yamparriparri (Puruntatameri shooting star)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 1100 x 50 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-115
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
At night the shooting star ‘Yamparriparri’ is seen in the sky from the land of the Tiwis. Yamparriparri (shooting star) is 10 year old girl Tukuwanyinga, the ancestor of the Puruntatameri family, stretching across the night sky.
Artiste : Christine Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Pwoja Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 120 × 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-111
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Pwoja Jilamara During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of ‘yoi’ (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs. Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). These designs can be applied in different ways, one of which is using the pwoja (or kayimwagakimi), a traditional Tiwi ‘comb’ carved with a single row of teeth on one or both ends, usually made using ironwood or bloodwood. After being dipped in ochre and applied to the body a straight row of dots is imprinted. Once completed, these dots are then collectively called yirrinkiripwoja (body painting). Painting of the face also occurs. These significant artistic designs collectively are called ‘Jilamara’.
Artiste : Virginia Galarla
Titre de l'œuvre : Pupuni Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 63 × 24 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-168
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of ‘yoi’ (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs. Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). These designs can be applied in different ways, one of which is using the finger, or in this case a brush. Painting of the face also occurs. These significant artistic designs collectively are called ‘Jilamara’.
Artiste : Christine Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Pwonga
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 140 x 48 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-82
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Christine Daisy Puruntatameri born in 1983 in Darwin and grew up on Melville Island at Pirlangimpi.
Back on Pirlangimpi she met her first partner and they had a daughter. They moved to WA in 2002 and had 2 more children. Christine moved back to Pirlangimpi with her 3 children in 2008.
Christine has experience as a Director of Munupi Arts, and her grandfather was the famous Tiwi Potter John Boscoe Tipiloura, and father was renouned potter Eddie Puruntatameri, who shared his creative skills and cultural knowledge with his daughter.
While her children were going to school she came to the Art Centre whenever she could. Christine has worked at the Pirlangimpi store since 2017 and when she has the time she comes to the Art Centre to paint. She loves to paint and uses a pwoja (comb) to apply ochres to canvases.
Pwoja Jilamara During ceremony on the Tiwi Islands a series of ‘yoi’ (dances), are performed; some are totemic (inherited from the person's Mother) and some serve to act out the narrative of newly composed songs. This painting tells a story about Pwonga the spider woman who gave us the designs of the web lines. WhenTiwi look for water they look for the spider webs which tell us there is water near.
Participants in these ceremonies are painted with turtiyanginari (the different natural ochre colours) in varying designs, transforming the dancers and, in some cases, providing protection against recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). These designs can be applied in different ways, one of which is using the pwoja (or kayimwagakimi), a traditional Tiwi ‘comb’ carved with a single row of teeth on one or both ends, usually made using ironwood or bloodwood. After being dipped in ochre and applied to the body a straight row of dots is imprinted. Once completed, these dots are then collectively called yirrinkiripwoja (body painting). Painting of the face also occurs. These significant artistic designs collectively are called ‘Jilamara’.
Artiste : Rebekah Yunipingu
Titre de l'œuvre : Trick Dance
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 120 × 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-141
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Artiste : Rebekah Yunipingu
Titre de l'œuvre : Trick Dance
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 100 × 100 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-114
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Artiste : Rebekah Yunipingu
Titre de l'œuvre : Trick Dance
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 120 × 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-142
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Artiste : Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Muputi
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 × 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-139
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Jane Margaret (1982) Tipuamantumirri moved to Pirlangimpi in 2014 to live with her two sisters Simplicia and Pamela who take care of her. Jane was working as an artist on Bathurst Island at the Ngaruwanajirri Inc before she moved to Munupi Arts. She is always thinking about her paintings before she does them. Painting has is her therapy, good for her hands and her mind. She also loves music and dancing. She has a beautiful soul with a beautiful smile and always likes to make new friends. She likes her sister Simplicia to tell her cultural stories and then she makes up her own ones too.
This paintings deals about the Muputi, the Tiwi name for Fish or many fish.
Artiste : Kalisha Lee Austral
Titre de l'œuvre : Pamajini
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 x 70 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-172
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tiwi name for Armband - worn when we dance at ceremony.
Artiste : Osmond Pangiraminni
Titre de l'œuvre : Boat/Canoe
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 120 × 80 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-138
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Artiste : Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Ampitji
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 103 x 13 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-124
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Rainbow Serpent. This is the artists dance.
Artiste : Jane Margaret Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Ampitji
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 80.7 x 16 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 25-136
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Rainbow Serpent. This is the artists dance.
Artiste : Jacqueline Puruntatameri
Titre de l'œuvre : Parlini Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur écorce d’arbre
Format : 103 h x 14 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-311
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Old ancestral Jilamara Design
Artiste : Kaye Brown
Titre de l'œuvre : Yirrinkiripwoja (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 109 × 41 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 499-23
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Kaye (1954) is a senior Tiwi culture woman. She is well versed in the old ways, parlinarri (old) stories and speaks the ‘hard’ Tiwi language. She started painting at Jilamara Arts and Crafts later in life after she retired from work. Prior to this she taught at the local primary school and worked at the Milikapiti Library. She loves teaching culture to the local primary school children who come to Jilamara for culture classes in the Muluwurri Museum.
She has a wealth of local knowledge about Tiwi culture and the history of her ancestors. She uses the Kayimwagakimi (carved ironwood comb) and locally sourced ochres from Melville Island to paint. Her yirrinkiripwoja/jilamara (ochre body paint design) are layered and reminiscent of the design that wulimawi (old people) used to prepare for ceremony and yoyi (dance).
She has been a finalist in the Telstra NATSIA Awards three times and was a significant part of the major TIWI Exhibition at NGV Australia in 2020/21.
Tiwi Culture places special significance on the Pukumani (funeral) ceremony. Mourners are decorated using natural ochres to disguise themselves from the spirit of the deceased and song and dance is performed to honour the dead. Yirrinkiripwoja (bodypaint) is the source of many contemporary Tiwi designs and performance of the pukumani as ritual helps to reinvigorate the imagery. The shortening of the word to Pwoja – also refers to the toothed ironwood comb used to apply the pwanga (dots) and is also used in Tiwi language to describe bones or even loose change.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
National Gallery of Victoria
Art Gallery of South Australia
Wesfarmers Collection
Kluge-Ruhe Art Museum, USA
Artiste : Timothy Cook
Titre de l'œuvre : Japarra (Moon Man)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 200 x 152 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 138-17
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Timothy Cook (1958) expresses himself through his loose and gestural designs. He paints exclusively with locally sourced ochre and his artworks are highly sort after by major collections both nationally and internationally.
Timothy won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art Award in 2012 and has been shortlisted for many others, including the Hadley Art Award in 2019, the Wynne Prize in 2020 and Sulman in 2023.
Japarra the moon man is central to the Tiwi Creation Story. Purukapali's younger brother ran away with his wifwe Bima, her baby Jinani left alone to die from heat and neglect, a bitter struggle ensued between the brothers and the king proclaimed all life would be subject to mortality. Japarra escaped up into the moon where his body changed into a pale half moon.
You can find the artworks of the artist within the following prestigious collections :
Musee du quai Branly, France
National Gallery of Australia
Fondation Opale, Switzerland
University of Newcastle, NSW
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Charles Darwin University, Darwin
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
Art Gallery of South Australia
Wesfarmers Collection of Australia, Western Australia
Murdoch University Collection, Western Australia
Edith Cowan University, Perth
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
Museum of Contemporary Art, Newcastle Art Gallery…
Artiste : Kaye Brown
Titre de l'œuvre : Kayimwagakimi jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 81 x 39 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 81-25
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Kaye (1954) is a senior Tiwi culture woman. She is well versed in the old ways, parlinarri (old) stories and speaks the ‘hard’ Tiwi language. She started painting at Jilamara Arts and Crafts later in life after she retired from work. Prior to this she taught at the local primary school and worked at the Milikapiti Library. She loves teaching culture to the local primary school children who come to Jilamara for culture classes in the Muluwurri Museum.
She has a wealth of local knowledge about Tiwi culture and the history of her ancestors. She uses the Kayimwagakimi (carved ironwood comb) and locally sourced ochres from Melville Island to paint. Her yirrinkiripwoja/jilamara (ochre body paint design) are layered and reminiscent of the design that wulimawi (old people) used to prepare for ceremony and yoyi (dance).
She has been a finalist in the Telstra NATSIA Awards three times and was a significant part of the major TIWI Exhibition at NGV Australia in 2020/21.
Kayimwagakimi is the traditional Tiwi painting 'comb'. Made from bloodwood or ironwood, it is about 15cm high with a single row of teeth. The comb is dabbed in ochre and applied to the painting surface resulting in a straight line of fine dots, a process which is repeated over and over.
Kayimwagakimi and marlipinyini (a fine stick or pandanus frond chewed to form a brush) have largely been replaced by modern brushes but a handful of Tiwi still use traditional tools.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
National Gallery of Victoria
Art Gallery of South Australia
Wesfarmers Collection
Kluge-Ruhe Art Museum, USA
Artiste : Conrad Kamilowra Tipungwuti
Titre de l'œuvre : Warnarringa ( the sun)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 × 120 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 256-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Conrad Tipungwuti (1966) has been painting and creating limited edition prints at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association since the late 1990’s. Alongside Timothy Cook, Conrad is part of the Ngawa Mantawi (all of us together) program at Jilamara – a program that supports artists with special needs to have successful careers in the arts while remaining close to family and Country.
Conrad grew up in the “old camp” at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) with his parents. While it no longer exists, the old camp is spoken about as a community of wulimawi (the old people) and Conrad was raised surrounded by strong culture and regular ceremonies. His Tiwi name is Kamilowra and this was given to him by the famous artist Cornelia Tipuamantumirri’s late husband Steven Tipuamantumirri.
Conrad paints using ochres or earth pigments sourced from around Milikapiti. The over-arching themes of his work depict the wet season Pakatiringa (rain), Warnarringa (Sun) and the Kulama (coming of age ceremony). This is represented by large concentric circles that refer both to the yams prepared during the ceremony and large rings that appear around the moon in late wet season signifying the beginning of the ceremony season.
The sun is very important to the Tiwi people. Parlingarri (creation time) it is believed that the whole world was in perpetual darkness and inhabited by yamparriparri (evil spirits). The wulimaka (old lady) Murtankala came up from underground with three children in a tunga (bark bag) on her back. As she moved around on the surface, she created grooves and crevices in the land with her body. Some of these filled with water and created the geographical shapes and channels of the Tiwi Islands. She made yikwani (fire) by rubbing grass and sticks together and lifted it up into the sky with her two hands to create light for her children, one of whom was Purukuparli (the first Tiwi man). This light became warnarringa (the sun). To this day contemporary Jilamara arsts sll use locally sourced earth pigments from Country to paint. The yellow ochre is burnt on the fire to make the red pigment – the colours of the land, the sun and fire applied to recall the old designs and creations stories of the Tiwi people.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Victoria.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Musee des Confluences, Paris, France
Charles Darwin University Collection
Murdoch University Collection, Perth
Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth
Artbank Australia
Queensland University Art Museum
Stokes Collection, Victoria…
Artiste : Timothy Cook
Titre de l'œuvre : Japarra
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 24 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 359-18
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Timothy Cook (1958) expresses himself through his loose and gestural designs. He paints exclusively with locally sourced ochre and his artworks are highly sort after by major collections both nationally and internationally.
Timothy won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Art Award in 2012 and has been shortlisted for many others, including the Hadley Art Award in 2019, the Wynne Prize in 2020 and Sulman in 2023.
In Tiwi ancestral memory, Japarra is Purukaparli’s deceitful brother. He and his sister-in-law Bima become lovers, and during one of their bush Bima and Purukaparli’s baby son dies of heatstroke, bringing mortality to the world.
Following the tragic discovery of his son’s death, Purukaparli fights his brother with the rage of grief, striking him with spears and throwing sticks.
You can find the artworks of the artist within the following prestigious collections :
Musee du quai Branly, France
National Gallery of Australia
Fondation Opale, Switzerland
University of Newcastle, NSW
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Charles Darwin University, Darwin
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Aboriginal Art Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands
Art Gallery of South Australia
Wesfarmers Collection of Australia, Western Australia
Murdoch University Collection, Western Australia
Edith Cowan University, Perth
Western Australian Art Gallery, Perth
Parliament House Collection, Canberra
Museum of Contemporary Art, Newcastle Art Gallery…
Artiste : Conrad Kamilowra Tipungwuti
Titre de l'œuvre : Kulama ceremonies
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 108 × 37 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 103-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Conrad Tipungwuti (1966) has been painting and creating limited edition prints at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association since the late 1990’s. Alongside Timothy Cook, Conrad is part of the Ngawa Mantawi (all of us together) program at Jilamara – a program that supports artists with special needs to have successful careers in the arts while remaining close to family and Country.
Conrad grew up in the “old camp” at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) with his parents. While it no longer exists, the old camp is spoken about as a community of wulimawi (the old people) and Conrad was raised surrounded by strong culture and regular ceremonies. His Tiwi name is Kamilowra and this was given to him by the famous artist Cornelia Tipuamantumirri’s late husband Steven Tipuamantumirri.
Conrad paints using ochres or earth pigments sourced from around Milikapiti. The over-arching themes of his work depict the wet season Pakatiringa (rain), Warnarringa (Sun) and the Kulama (coming of age ceremony). This is represented by large concentric circles that refer both to the yams prepared during the ceremony and large rings that appear around the moon in late wet season signifying the beginning of the ceremony season.
Kulama is the Tiwi coming of age ceremony which coincides with the harvest of wild yam. The ceremony is performed late in the wet season when a ring or halo appears around Japarra (the moon). Elders of both sexes sing and call out to the ancestors for three days, welcoming children into adulthood. The ceremony is held on a prepared ground of concentric circles at the centre of which round yams are prepared for eating. Circular motifs in Tiwi art oen symbolise the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).
As Tiwi arst and cultural leader Pedro Wonaeamirri describes:
Japarra ( moon), warnarringa (sun) and the circles on the ground all important for Kulama. Three days and nights – Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the ceremony. No lile children at the Kulama. No dancing, just calling out to the ancestors, each direcon. This way, that way. Just singing, calling out and crawling in a circle calling out and sharing stories from parlingarri [old mes]. At the end of the Kulama, on Sunday we eat, then Monday morning everyone comes in, the children and old people. The cooked yam is mixed with red ochre and put on their bodies. Somemes people have one side of yam for eang and one side for mixing with red ochre and rubbing on the body – Pedro Wonaeamirri.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Victoria.
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Musee des Confluences, Paris, France
Charles Darwin University Collection
Murdoch University Collection, Perth
Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth
Artbank Australia
Queensland University Art Museum
Stokes Collection, Victoria…
Artiste : Tina Patlas
Titre de l'œuvre : Kulama
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 × 90 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 11-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tina Patlas (1968) began painting for Jilamara Arts and Craft Association in 2002. Although Tina’s traditional country spans areas of south west Melville Island and south east Bathurst Island (including Wurrumiyanga) she spent most of her youth growing up in Milikapiti on the north coast of the island.
Tina works in the local community for Territory Housing but has also painted at the art centre for many years. She held the position as Treasurer of the Jilamara Arts and Craft Association Executive Committee in 2003.
Tina paints her own Jilamara design about country, yoi (ceremonial dance), Kulama ceremony and the wildlife of the Tiwi Islands. She has a special interest in the parlini jilamara, the old stories handed down by her ancestors.
When she was growing up, she watched her Grandfather Holder Adams paint and carve where he lived at Timrambu – just south of Milikapiti. She says, “He used to sculpt toys for us to play with. This inspired me to become an artist.”
This artwork is dealing about Kulama. It is the Tiwi coming of age ceremony which coincides with the harvest of wild yam. The ceremony is performed late in the wet season when a ring or halo appears around Japarra (the moon). Elders of both sexes sing and call out to the ancestors for three days, welcoming children into adulthood. The ceremony is held on a prepared ground of concentric circles at the centre of which round yams are prepared for eang. Circular motifs in Tiwi art often symbolise the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).
As Tiwi artist and cultural leader Pedro Wonaeamirri describes:
Japarra ( moon), warnarringa (sun) and the circles on the ground all important for Kulama. Three days and nights – Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the ceremony. No lile children at the Kulama. No dancing, just calling out to the ancestors, each direcon. This way, that way. Just singing, calling out and crawling in a circle calling out and sharing stories from parlingarri [old mes]. At the end of the Kulama, on Sunday we eat, then Monday morning everyone comes in, the children and old people. The cooked yam is mixed with red ochre and put on their bodies. Somemes people have one side of yam for eang and one side for mixing with red ochre and rubbing on the body – Pedro Wonaeamirri.
Artiste : Jacinta Lorenzo
Titre de l'œuvre : Yirrinkiri Jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 150 × 120 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 136-17
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Jacinta was born in 1958 in Darwin but has lived in Milikapiti on the island for many years.
Her work has been described by other Tiwi people as similar to old Tiwi patterns or jilamara (design). Jacinta feels that culture is very important particularly for the younger generations. She has 3 children who have given her 18 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
Jacinta has been a member of Jilamara Arts for many years and has represented the organisation in group exhibitions since 1996.
This artwork is connected to the “design from our Pukumani burial ceremonies: it is the pattern we paint on tutuni or grave posts. We have conducted these ceremonies for centuries, well before the Dutch first came to Melville Island 300 years ago. It is hard for us to imagine how far those first Dutch sailors had to travel to get here, but when they got here my people were already doing Pukumani."
Artiste : Tina Patlas
Titre de l'œuvre : Kulama
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 90 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 39-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tina Patlas (1968) began painting for Jilamara Arts and Craft Association in 2002. Although Tina’s traditional country spans areas of south west Melville Island and south east Bathurst Island (including Wurrumiyanga) she spent most of her youth growing up in Milikapiti on the north coast of the island.
Tina works in the local community for Territory Housing but has also painted at the art centre for many years. She held the position as Treasurer of the Jilamara Arts and Craft Association Executive Committee in 2003.
Tina paints her own Jilamara design about country, yoi (ceremonial dance), Kulama ceremony and the wildlife of the Tiwi Islands. She has a special interest in the parlini jilamara, the old stories handed down by her ancestors.
When she was growing up, she watched her Grandfather Holder Adams paint and carve where he lived at Timrambu – just south of Milikapiti. She says, “He used to sculpt toys for us to play with. This inspired me to become an artist.”
This artwork is dealing about Kulama. It is the Tiwi coming of age ceremony which coincides with the harvest of wild yam. The ceremony is performed late in the wet season when a ring or halo appears around Japarra (the moon). Elders of both sexes sing and call out to the ancestors for three days, welcoming children into adulthood. The ceremony is held on a prepared ground of concentric circles at the centre of which round yams are prepared for eang. Circular motifs in Tiwi art often symbolise the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).
As Tiwi artist and cultural leader Pedro Wonaeamirri describes:
Japarra ( moon), warnarringa (sun) and the circles on the ground all important for Kulama. Three days and nights – Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the ceremony. No lile children at the Kulama. No dancing, just calling out to the ancestors, each direcon. This way, that way. Just singing, calling out and crawling in a circle calling out and sharing stories from parlingarri [old mes]. At the end of the Kulama, on Sunday we eat, then Monday morning everyone comes in, the children and old people. The cooked yam is mixed with red ochre and put on their bodies. Somemes people have one side of yam for eang and one side for mixing with red ochre and rubbing on the body – Pedro Wonaeamirri.
Artiste : Arthurina Moreen
Titre de l'œuvre : Ngiya jilamara I (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 60 × 60 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 368-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Arthurina Moreen (2000) is a young emerging artist and artsworker/gallery assistant at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association. She oversees operations in the art centre gallery and studios as well as participates in organisational governance as an elected Executive Committee member. Her role includes artwork cataloguing with the SAM database, studio artwork photography, post-production image editing, pricing and sales, studio supports, working with the historical collection at the art centre’s keeping place and travelling for art fairs, exhibitions and events. She joined Jilamara Arts in 2021 as a screen printer in the workshop and she has quickly established herself as a key member of the organisation’s workforce.
After returning to the Tiwi Islands, she has held a few different employment positions in Milikapiti including being a support teacher at the primary school working with children with special needs and a parttime position at the Milikapiti Sports and Social Club.
In 2022 Arthurina travelled with Jilamara to take part in the King and Wood Malleson’s Indigenous Governance Conference and in 2023 she completed the ANKA Artsworker Extension Program where she travelled to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne visiting relevant arts institutions including National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, University of Melbourne’s Grimwade centre and the National Gallery of Victoria.
This painting deals about Ngiya Jilamara which means my design. All jilamara (design) is originally drawn from the body painting which accompanied the pukumani (funeral) and kulama (initiation/yam) ceremonies. All the artists living at Milikapi are drawing on collective Tiwi memory, and the individual expression and aesthetic qualities of each artist's work is reflective of their personal interpretation of traditional Tiwi design or jilamara.
AWARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS :
2023 ANKA Artsworker Extension Program – VIC, NSW, ACT
Creative Regions National Summit, National Gallery of Australia
2022 Wake Up, King and Wood Malleson/Arts Law Governance Symposium, Melbourne
Artiste : Nancy Marie Kerinauia
Titre de l'œuvre : Jilamara (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 120 × 90 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 275-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Nancy Marie Kerinauia (1991) began working at Jilamara in 2018. She always wanted to join the art centre as she has strong family ties to many artists who have worked in Milikapiti and enjoyed successful careers at the art centre. Her grandfather was Black Joe and her mother Katrina Kerinauia, both have passed away but remain well known for their artwork.
Nancy is quickly establishing herself as a young and talented emerging artist at Jilamara Arts. She often paints using the kayimwagakimi – a hand crafted ironwood comb used to apply rows of dots instead of a stick or brush. She has a very fine style of jilamara (Tiwi body paint design) and applies this alongside images of her clan totems to create contemporary new work.
This painting deals about all jilamara (design) which are originally drawn from the body painting and accompanied the pukumani (funeral) and kulama (iniaon/yam) ceremonies.
An individual design and aesthetic is highly valued by Tiwi artists and is representative of their personal interpretation of the traditional Tiwi design or jilamara.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
Art Gallery of South Australia
Kluge-Ruhe Art Museum, USA
Private collections
Artiste : Arthurina Moreen
Titre de l'œuvre : Ngiya jilamara I (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 60 × 60 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 409-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Arthurina Moreen (2000) is a young emerging artist and artsworker/gallery assistant at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association. She oversees operations in the art centre gallery and studios as well as participates in organisational governance as an elected Executive Committee member. Her role includes artwork cataloguing with the SAM database, studio artwork photography, post-production image editing, pricing and sales, studio supports, working with the historical collection at the art centre’s keeping place and travelling for art fairs, exhibitions and events. She joined Jilamara Arts in 2021 as a screen printer in the workshop and she has quickly established herself as a key member of the organisation’s workforce.
After returning to the Tiwi Islands, she has held a few different employment positions in Milikapiti including being a support teacher at the primary school working with children with special needs and a parttime position at the Milikapiti Sports and Social Club.
In 2022 Arthurina travelled with Jilamara to take part in the King and Wood Malleson’s Indigenous Governance Conference and in 2023 she completed the ANKA Artsworker Extension Program where she travelled to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne visiting relevant arts institutions including National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, University of Melbourne’s Grimwade centre and the National Gallery of Victoria.
This painting deals about Ngiya Jilamara which means my design. All jilamara (design) is originally drawn from the body painting which accompanied the pukumani (funeral) and kulama (initiation/yam) ceremonies. All the artists living at Milikapi are drawing on collective Tiwi memory, and the individual expression and aesthetic qualities of each artist's work is reflective of their personal interpretation of traditional Tiwi design or jilamara.
AWARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS :
2023 ANKA Artsworker Extension Program – VIC, NSW, ACT
Creative Regions National Summit, National Gallery of Australia
2022 Wake Up, King and Wood Malleson/Arts Law Governance Symposium, Melbourne
Artiste : Pedro Wonaeamirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Pwoja-Pukumani Body Paint Design
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 96 x 39 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 444-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Pedro Wonaeamirri (1974) grew up in Pirlangimpi (Pularumpi) on Melville Island. He was educated in Darwin and returned to the Tiwi Islands in 1989, where he moved to Milikapiti the same year that Jilamara Arts and Crafts was incorporated. He has been exhibiting since this time and his artworks are in many national, state and private collections Australia-wide and overseas.
Pedro is a senior cultural leader on the Tiwi Islands with a significant and strong knowledge of the old Tiwi language and all of the songs and dance important in Tiwi culture. With a seat on the board of many organisations, Pedro is the current Vice President of Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association and a Director for Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists (ANKA). Alongside his esteemed visual art career he has also published many essays on Tiwi art, culture and ceremony. His country, Paluwiyanga/ Andranganoo (Goose Creek) is on the eastern side of Melville Island “the land or country where I come from is from my father’s father, my grandfather”.
Pedro’s contemporary art practice has its foundations in Jilamara – “design” derived from ceremonial body painting and the ornate decoration applied to tutini poles, tunga (bark baskets) and associated ritual objects made for Pukumani (mourning) ceremony and Tiwi Yoi (dance).
Pedro continues to exclusively use ochres sourced from in and around his place of work in Milikapiti. He applies these colours of Tiwi Country with meticulous fine detail and tools traditionally used to apply decoration to the skin. "The designs are already in my head and I use the Kayimwagakimi our traditional wooden comb made from ironwood and natural ochres from the island to paint."
Tiwi Culture places special significance on the Pukumani (funeral) ceremony. Mourners are decorated using natural ochres to disguise themselves from the spirit of the deceased and song and dance is performed to honour the dead. Yirrinkiripwoja (bodypaint) is the source of many contemporary
Tiwi designs and performance of the pukumani as ritual helps to reinvigorate the imagery. The shortening of the word to Pwoja - also refers to 'best'.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra – Museum of Victoria, Melbourne – National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne – Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney – Art Gallery of South Australia – Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth – Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane – National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney – Commonwealth Institute, London – Artbank, Sydney – Gantner Myer Collection – Gordon & Marilyn Darling Collection, Melbourne – Levi-Kaplan Collection, Seattle, USA – The British Museum, England – Murdoch University Collection, Perth – Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth – Wesfarmers Collection, Perth – Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney – Kluge-Ruhe Art Museum, USA
Artiste : Arthurina Moreen
Titre de l'œuvre : Ngiya jilamara I (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 60 × 60 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 431-24
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Arthurina Moreen (2000) is a young emerging artist and artsworker/gallery assistant at Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association. She oversees operations in the art centre gallery and studios as well as participates in organisational governance as an elected Executive Committee member. Her role includes artwork cataloguing with the SAM database, studio artwork photography, post-production image editing, pricing and sales, studio supports, working with the historical collection at the art centre’s keeping place and travelling for art fairs, exhibitions and events. She joined Jilamara Arts in 2021 as a screen printer in the workshop and she has quickly established herself as a key member of the organisation’s workforce.
After returning to the Tiwi Islands, she has held a few different employment positions in Milikapiti including being a support teacher at the primary school working with children with special needs and a parttime position at the Milikapiti Sports and Social Club.
In 2022 Arthurina travelled with Jilamara to take part in the King and Wood Malleson’s Indigenous Governance Conference and in 2023 she completed the ANKA Artsworker Extension Program where she travelled to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne visiting relevant arts institutions including National Gallery of Australia, Art Gallery of New South Wales, University of Melbourne’s Grimwade centre and the National Gallery of Victoria.
This painting deals about Ngiya Jilamara which means my design. All jilamara (design) is originally drawn from the body painting which accompanied the pukumani (funeral) and kulama (initiation/yam) ceremonies. All the artists living at Milikapi are drawing on collective Tiwi memory, and the individual expression and aesthetic qualities of each artist's work is reflective of their personal interpretation of traditional Tiwi design or jilamara.
AWARDS AND QUALIFICATIONS :
2023 ANKA Artsworker Extension Program – VIC, NSW, ACT
Creative Regions National Summit, National Gallery of Australia
2022 Wake Up, King and Wood Malleson/Arts Law Governance Symposium, Melbourne
Artiste : Janelle Mungatopi
Titre de l'œuvre : Kayimwagakimi jilamara
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 90 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-25
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Janelle Mungatopi (1985) lived and grew up in Milikapiti with her mother and grandparents. long time ago she use to watching all of her grandfathers and great grandfathers carving big pole, painting on tuna and bark.
She started joining Jilamara 2022/23 as a screen printer and now she is developing her own skills, and working with the elders around the art centre. she is also enjoying making beautiful artworks and love engaging with everyone at Jilamara.
Kayimwagakimi is the traditional Tiwi painting 'comb'. Made from bloodwood or ironwood, it is about 15cm high with a single row of teeth. The comb is dabbed in ochre and applied to the painting surface resulting in a straight line of fine dots, a process which is repeated over and over.
Kayimwagakimi and marlipinyini (a fine stick or pandanus frond chewed to form a brush) have largely been replaced by modern brushes but a handful of Tiwi still use traditional tools.
Artiste : Nancy Marie Kerinauia
Titre de l'œuvre : Jilamara (body paint design)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 90 × 90 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 20-25
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications pour cette œuvre :
Nancy Marie Kerinauia (1991) began working at Jilamara in 2018. She always wanted to join the art centre as she has strong family ties to many artists who have worked in Milikapiti and enjoyed successful careers at the art centre. Her grandfather was Black Joe and her mother Katrina Kerinauia, both have passed away but remain well known for their artwork.
Nancy is quickly establishing herself as a young and talented emerging artist at Jilamara Arts. She often paints using the kayimwagakimi – a hand crafted ironwood comb used to apply rows of dots instead of a stick or brush. She has a very fine style of jilamara (Tiwi body paint design) and applies this alongside images of her clan totems to create contemporary new work.
The term jilamara in Tiwi language actually describes the acon of painting, but is also used to describe designs in locally sourced ochres. Many of these designs are originally drawn from elaborate ochre body painting applied to the face and bodies of family and dancers during the Pukumani (mourning) and Kulama (coming-of-age/yam) ceremonies.
In Pukumani ceremonies it is believed the jilamara disguise the immediate family from the spirit of the dead, leading to very elaborate compositions on the body. In these ceremonies similar designs are also applied to the tutini ( carved ironwood Pukumani poles) and tunga (bark bags) which can form central parts of the ceremony. An individual design and aesthetic is highly valued by Tiwi artists and is representative of their personal interpretation of their family's Tiwi design or jilamara.
You can find his artworks in the following prestigious collections :
Art Gallery of South Australia
Kluge-Ruhe Art Museum, USA
Private collections
Artiste : Jacinta Lorenzo
Titre de l'œuvre : Jilamara (body paint designs)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin Belge
Format : 150 × 150 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Jalimara (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 179-25
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Jilamara Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Jacinta was born in 1958 in Darwin but has lived in Milikapiti on the island for many years.
Her work has been described by other Tiwi people as similar to old Tiwi patterns or jilamara (design). Jacinta feels that culture is very important particularly for the younger generations. She has 3 children who have given her 18 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
Jacinta has been a member of Jilamara Arts for many years and has represented the organisation in group exhibitions since 1996.
The term jilamara in Tiwi language actually describes the acon of painting, but is also used to describe designs in locally sourced ochres. Many of these designs are originally drawn from elaborate ochre body painting applied to the face and bodies of family and dancers during the Pukumani (mourning) and Kulama (coming-of-age/yam) ceremonies. In Pukumani ceremonies it is believed the jilamara disguise the immediate family from the spirit of the dead, leading to very elaborate compositions on the body. In these ceremonies similar designs are also applied to the tutini ( carved ironwood Pukumani poles) and tunga (bark bags) which can form central parts of the ceremony. An individual design and aesthetic is highly valued by Tiwi artists and is representative of their personal interpretation of their family's Tiwi design or jilamara.
Artiste : Samuel Jrn Poantimului
Titre de l'œuvre : Tokwampini
Pigments naturels sur bois sculpté (Iron wood).
Format : 91 h x 15 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-347
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tokwampini is the Tiwi name for a bird. Commonly carved on Pukamani poles, it represents the ending of the creation story. Tokwampini is the father of Bima.
Artiste : Dermott Tipungwuti
Titre de l'œuvre : Tokwampini
Pigments naturels sur bois sculpté (Iron wood).
Format : 72 h x 14 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 23-347
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tokwampini is the Tiwi name for a bird. Commonly carved on Pukamani poles, it represents the ending of the creation story. Tokwampini is the father of Bima.
Artiste : Samuel Jrn Poantimului
Titre de l'œuvre : Tokwampini
Pigments naturels sur bois sculpté (Iron wood).
Format : 66 x 15.3 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 24-54
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
Tokwampini is the Tiwi name for a bird. Commonly carved on Pukamani poles, it represents the ending of the creation story. Tokwampini is the father of Bima.
Artiste : Delores Tipuamantumirri
Titre de l'œuvre : Winga (Tidal Movement / Waves)
Pigments naturels sur toile de lin
Format : 180 x 120 cm
Provenance et certificat : centre d'art aborigène de Munupi (Tiwi Island)
Référence de la peinture : 22-144
© Photo : Aboriginal signature with the courtesy of the artist & Munupi Art centre (Tiwi Island)
Explications sur cette œuvre :
This work depicts the tidal movement of waters in and around the seas and creeks of the Tiwi Islands. Not just influencing fishing and hunting opportunities, the movement of water carries masses of silt and sand, transforming the land and changing the coastal landscape. Winga can also be translated as 'waves', just one part of the changing tides. Tidal surges are at their most powerful when a king tide occurs during the Wet Season, especially during a full moon. Delores has a strong bond to the waters surrounding the Tiwi Islands, forged by a lifetime of memories living encircled within the tides of the Arafura Sea.
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