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

Demander le prix de l'œuvre

© 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 o􀅌en symbolise the moon, yam and ritual circles of the Kulama ceremony, the pwanga (dots) reflect the japalinga (stars).

As Tiwi ar􀆟st 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 li􀆩le children at the Kulama. No dancing, just calling out to the ancestors, each direc􀆟on. 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. Some􀆟mes people have one side of yam for ea􀆟ng 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…