Martuwarra is my River Country
Ms Kurarra
Ms Kurarra- Martuwarra is my River Country
4 March – 28 March, 2026
Presented by Aboriginal & Pacific Art Gallery in association with Mangkaja Arts, Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia.
Through Ms Kurarra’s eyes, the Fitzroy River is ever-present bountiful, sacred, and full of colour and life. Through her masterful use of colour and line, we can peek beneath the swirling surface to see parlka (barramundi), kurlumajarti (catfish) and turtles hiding in rockholes and river reeds.
Image front cover: Martuwarra, #178-14, 120x120cm, Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Ms Kurarra (1952-2025)
Skin: Nampiyinti
Language: Walmajarri
Country: Noonkanbah
Ms Kurarra was born by a billabong at Noonkanbah Community. Her parents were Walmajarri whose movements led them to live along the Fitzroy River. Ms Kurarra lived most of her life at Noonkanbah. A compulsive artist, she was a teacher’s aide at the local school for many years, where she facilitated artmaking with the children. Illustrative of her attachment to the Country where she grew up and her intimate life with the river, Ms Kurarra’s art is saturated with river-country motifs, including parlka (barramundi), bream, tortoise, stingray, pandanus trees, and the water itself.
Ms Kurarra painted these images repeatedly, as though they were etched into her psyche. Some works are linear representations in monotones; others are layered compositions, lathered on with wild, confident brushstrokes and expressive mark-making. These contemporary compositions display an outstanding understanding of colour and form. Ms Kurarra is one of the cornerstones of Mangkaja Arts and is considered a significant contributor to contemporary artmaking in the Fitzroy Valley region.
Martuwarra #291/16
180x120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra “Martuwarra is my river country; this painting is all about the Fitzroy River which flows down through Noonkanbah where I live. All kinds of fish live in the water; we catch big mob of fish here. I like Parlka(barramundi). We catch catfish and brim here too. Nganku (shark), Wirritunany (swordfish) and stingray also live here. These fish livein these waters long after the flood has gone. Also, this painting is about barramundi swimming on the surface of the water, you can see the Wakiri (Pandanus tree) and rocks all around. When the barramundi gets tired, they go back into the rock holes. These rock holes hold all the Parlka (barramundi) that live in the river. Kalpurtu (creator serpent-type being) also live in these rock holes and swim all around the Palma (creeks) and all around the Wakiri that grows in the river.”
- Ms Kurarra
Parlka #178/14
120 x 120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“This
90 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
is the Fitzroy River with all the palm trees at Noonkanbah” – Ms Kurarra
River #170/11
Martuwarra #549/09
90 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra #442/13
90 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra #61/23
120 x 240cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“Kalpu. Kalpurtu (creator serpent-type being) also live in these rock holes and swim all around the Palma (creeks) and all around the Wakiri that grows in the river.” – Ms Kurarra
120 x 120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra #373/15
Martuwarra #199/14
120 x 120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra #4/14
90 x 120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“Martuwarra (river) country, ngapa (water), (fish) in the water, parlka (barramundi), one river long, a billabong, big river near Nookanbah. Rocks and tree and getting that fish, that parlka” – Ms Kurarra
Martuwarra #58/14
90 x 120cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“This is the palm trees and rocks at the river” – Ms Kurarra
60 x 90cm
River #495/9
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“This painting is all about rocks and rockholes. Barramundi 9parlka) live in these waters. Trees (Majala Tree) all around. When Barramundi get hot, they go under the rocks to cool off.” – Ms Kurarra
Rockholes #117/10
60 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
“This is the place I was born ‘Nookanbah Station’. Next to a billabong creek with kurlumajarti (catfish) and parlka (barramundi)” – Ms Kurarra
Kulkarriya #174/10
60 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Martuwarra #220/10
60 x 90cm
Atelier acrylic paint on 14oz canvas
Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency is a vibrant Aboriginal owned art centre located in the township of Fitzroy Crossing, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Mangkaja, meaning wet weather shelter, was incorporated in 1993 by a small group of artists to support cultural, social and economic development in the region.
Mangkaja represents artists across four language groups within the region – Bunuba and Gooniyandi of martuwarra (river country), and Walmajarri and Wangkajunga from the jilji (sand-hill country of the Great Sandy Desert). Mangkaja artists are renowned for their uninhibited style and lively use of colour, painting images of country that share stories of culture and identity. Mangkaja exhibits nationally and internationally with many artists represented through each of the State Galleries, the National Gallery of Australia and significant private and public collections around the world.
Ms Kurarra- Martuwarra is my River Country
4 March – 28 March, 2026
Aboriginal & Pacific Art, Sydney in association with Mangkaja Arts, Fitzroy Crossing, WA
All images and text copyright the Artist and Mangkaja Arts, Fitzroy Crossing, WA. Courtesy of the artist and Mangkaja Arts, Fitzroy Crossing, WA
Aboriginal and Pacific Art Gallery acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land on which our gallery stands. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Aboriginal & Pacific Art
1/24 Wellington Street Waterloo NSW 2017 Australia
Ph: +61 2 9699 2211 info@aboriginalpacificart.com.au www.aboriginalpacificart.com.au