Tjarlirli by Tjawina Porter, Photo courtesy of Tjarlirli Art
Agency acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Sovereign Custodians of the land on which we live and work. We extend our respects to their Ancestors and all First Nations peoples and Elders past, present, and future.
Agency is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander non-for-profit that celebrates and promotes First Nations art, culture and people on a local, national and international scale.
Our exhibition program showcases the creative practice of urban, regional and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Designed to connect contemporary artists with new audiences and collectors and celebrate the diversity of First Nations artistic practice, the program is First Nations led and provides professional development and economic return for First Nations artists and communities. Importantly, all exhibitions - whether at Agency’s gallery space in Collingwood or presented in partnership with other initiatives or institutions - provide an opportunity for audiences to go beyond the art, centering the artist’s practice through talks, video portraits and engagement.
Agency
47 Easey Street, Collingwood
Wednesday - Friday, 11 - 3pm
Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, photographed by Tom Birchley, View from Yilpikarri, looking towards Parngkurrpirri
A History
Tjawina Porter was born at Wiruly-Wiruly, just south of Kuruyurltu, to father Iilyi and mother Tjapukurla in approximately 1931. Her skin name is Karrimarra/Nampitjinpa. Tjawina lived her whole life on Country in the Western Desert. She lived a traditional nomadic lifestyle in her ancestral country before being moved to Warburton Mission. Her country surrounds where the communities of Tjukurla, Warakurna and Kaltukatjara now stand.
Tjawina first saw white people at Pulpa, where she was living with her family as a child. It wasn’t until she was a young woman and had children that she was taken off her Country. Along with her husband and children, she was taken by Native Patrol Officer McDougall to Warburton Mission with the other family members. Tjawina and her husband Nyalirrkurnu had 3 children, Charlie, Mal, and Fiona, all born at Pangkupirri, Tjawina’s ancestral home. While Tjawina was in Warburton she heard that her father had passed away at the Giles Weather Station.
After living in Warburton for some time, in the early 70s the family footwalked back to the newly established settlement of Docker River (Kaltukatjara). After living at Docker River for some time Tjawina and her family travelled to other places to visit families and to work. They went to Haast’s Bluff, Papunya, Kakali Bore, Areyonga and Alice springs.
In the mid 70’s, Tjawina and her family again moved back to Docker River. Here she met up with her sister Esther Nampitjinpa Giles. The last time she had seen her sister was in Warburton with two children and now Esther had six children. They were very happy to see each other again.
In the early 80s there was a death in the west camp at Docker River, so everyone including Tjawina and family moved to Pulpa (Tjila well) which was an outstation of Docker River. This was the first settlement near Tjukurla Community. There were about 50 people living at Pulpa outstation. The families then established their own community in 1981 between Tjukurla rockhole and Pulpa rockhole and named it Tjukurla. It was at Tjukurla that Tjawina first took up the art of painting.
At the beginning, only men painted, then slowly women began to paint as well. Tjawina was part of this new group of women who began to paint at Tjukurla. Tjawina was also a skilled craftsperson and was well known for her skills as a traditional basket weaver and carver of punu before becoming a recognised for her paintings.
Throughout the 80s and 90s Tjawina lived with her families in Tjukurla. Later, she moved away to live elsewhere, but she returned to Tjukurla. Into her nineties, Tjawina continued to paint and move between Tjukurla and Kaltukatjara (Docker River). Until her passing, Mrs Porter often painted side by side with her daughter Fiona Young and her granddaughter Debra Young.
Written by Dr. Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis, Tjawina’s daughter.
Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, (top) Tjawina and puppy arrive at the art centre Tjarlirli Art 2013, (bottom) Tjawina Porter - October 2020 Tjukurla, photographed by Rosie Frecheville
Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, (top) Country near Tjukurla May 2022, (bottom) Fiona Young Lizzie Ellis Tjawina Porter July 2022, photographed by Rosie Frecheville
The Tjawinaku Tjukurrpa Nyinantja
Project:
Mrs T. Nampitjinpa Porter was a senior Ngaanyatjarra lore woman, matriarch, and inaugural painter with Tjarlirli Art. At over ninety years of age when she passed, she was for many years one of the oldest of the “bush” generation, raised in the traditional nomadic manner of countless generations before. For decades, Mrs Porter has been recognised as a significant and successful artist whose firsthand knowledge of walking and living on country informed her practice. By brushwork and thick dotting onto the canvas, Mrs Porter’s works evoke the movement and energy of desert landscapes, of Yawulyu (Women’s songs) and the multilayered histories and Tjukurrpa that this Country holds.
When formulating this project, Tjarlirli Art staff and Mrs. Porter’s family had an acute sense of the incredible body of knowledge she held, and the need to preserve at least of some of it for future generations. While she was a prolific painter with a long career, Mrs. Porter’s works are scattered across the country and the world, and there has been limited access for her family and community to her incredible body of work and the knowledge held therein. After many discussions between the art centre, Mrs Porter, and her family, funding was secured from Creative Australia in 2022 to create a suite of paintings and an accompanying documentary film which would act as an archive of her memories. The project was guided
by Dr. Elizabeth Marrkilyi Ellis – author, linguist, interpreter, and Mrs Porter’s daughter - and assisted by other members of Mrs Porter’s family including her other daughters Fiona Young and Nerida Martin, and her niece Julieanne Farmer.
Over the course of nine months, Mrs Porter, her extended family, and art centre staff visited Country, filmed on-site, recorded in the studio, developed maps, documented stories, and created paintings. Initially, Mrs Porter planned to paint only a handful of key sites; however, her strength and passion was remarkable, and throughout this process of remembering and recording, more and more important sites emerged until she had created twelve beautiful works of incredibly dense cultural, topographical, and spiritual knowledge. In the accompanying film, Mrs Porter offers insight into the Tjukurrpa associated with these sites, as well as sharing moments and memories from her remarkable life.
Mrs Porter’s passing in February this year was felt very deeply as a profound loss to her family, community, and all whose lives she touched through her art and personality. Until the end of her life, Mrs. Porter remained joyful and vivacious, her wit, memory, and sense of humour undiminished. Tjawinaku Tjukurrpa Nyinantja is a celebration of Mrs Porter’s life and career, and her generosity in sharing her knowledge with her family, community, and the wider world.
This collection of paintings and video demonstrate a poetic link between Country, culture, and art practice. The works are to be sold as a collection. Please contact Agency if you would like further information.
Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, (top) Tjawina Porter Tjukurla November 2022, (bottom) Tjawina Nampitjinpa Porter paintings - Lirrun, Yulpikarri, Kulail, Pangkurrpirri, Larlarl, Yumari, Kuruyurltu, Tjarlirli Art Centre, Tjukurla, 2023, photographed by Rosie Frecheville
Tjawina Nampitjinpa Porter
Solo Exhibitions
2023, Tjawinaku Tjukurrpa Nyinantja, RAFT Artspace, NT
2017, Ng Salon, Tarnanthi Festival, Raft Artspace & Hanging Valley, Praxis Gallery
2017, Residency, Wintjiri Gallery
2016, Residency, Wintjiri Gallery
2015, Tunbridge Gallery
2015, Wintjiri Gallery
2014, Desert Mob 2014
2014, Our Home in Colour- Outstation Gallery
2012, Watch Me and Learn- Aboriginal and Pacific Arts Sydney
2011, Desert Mob Exhibition - Araluen Arts Centre Alice Springs
Mrs T. Nampitjinpa Porter was a painter for over three decades, and even before this she was a skilled craftswoman, renowned for her skills as a traditional basket weaver and carver of punu before becoming recognised for her exceptional painting skills.
Her artworks represented the traditional homelands associated with her people’s ancestral heritage. The iconography depicts sand dunes known as “tali” and rock escarpments known as “puli”, as well as waterholes and food sources. Her designs are often used in body art during traditional ceremonies. The artworks depict the physical markings that the ancient ancestors have provided to give evidence of their activities during the time of creation. Mrs Porter’s artworks are rich in symbolism and fine detail, with brushwork and dots travelling steadily across the canvas to reveal the undulating forms of her country. Her extensive cultural and topographical knowledge are evident in her paintings, which evoke the movement and energy of desert landscapes.
In the years that Mrs Porter painted, she gained worldwide recognition, participating in many national and international group exhibitions. Her works were selected as finalist pieces for a number of art awards, and are represented in private and public collections in Australia and overseas.
Tjawina Porter September 2022, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, photographed by Rosie Frecheville
Road from Tjukurla to Kumpul and Warlurtu, 2013, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art
This collection of paintings and video demonstrate a poetic link between Country, culture, and art practice. The works are to be sold as a collection. Please contact Agency if you would like further information.
Larlarl 2022
Acrylic on canvas
122 x 91cm
Yumarra 2022
Acrylic on canvas
122 x 92cm
Yarrngawarli 2022
Acrylic on canvas
121x 92cm
Tjawina Porter in front of her works at RAFT, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art
Lirrurn 2023
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Tilykirrpalangu 2022
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Yurlpikarri 2023
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Yurlpikarri March 2023, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art
Kuruyurltu 2023
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Pulpa 2023
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Kumpul 2022
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Lizzie Ellis and Tjawina Porter September 2022, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, photographed by Rosie Frecheville
Tjarlirli Rockhole Tjawina 2022
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Pangkupirri 2022
Acrylic on canvas
121 x 92cm
Kulail 2022
Acrylic on canvas
122 x 91cm
Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art
Tjarlirli Art and Kaltukatjara Art are two community-owned art centers located on either side of the border between the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
The Tjarlirli art centre is located in Tjukurla, a small community of around 50 people in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands. Tjukurla was established here in the 1980s due to its proximity to extremely significant cultural sites and the ancestral homelands of community members. Nestled between sand dunes and the vast salt lake (Lake Hopkins).
Kaltukatjara art centre is just across the border in the NPY Lands of the Northern Territory. Kaltukatjara (Docker River) community was established as a settlement in the 1960s and is now home to around 300 people. It lies along stunning mountain ranges and river beds.
Tjarlirli Art was established in 2006 in Tjukurla, initially operated as a single art centre, supporting artists who relocated to Kaltukatjara for aged care. These artists participated in painting workshops at the aged care facility.
Fast forward a decade: thanks to tireless advocacy from the Kaltukatjara community, an art centre was finally established in Kaltukatjara. Tjarlirli Art took charge of managing Kaltukatjara Art when it opened in 2016. This partnership between the two art centres has been crucial to our sustainability and success.
Together, Tjarlirli and Kaltukatjara Art now represents around 100 Ngaanyatjarra and Pitjantjatjara artists. We are one of the few community-owned and governed Aboriginal art centers that operate across state borders.
Our strength lies in the deep connection between our two communities and art centers. We take immense pride in working together to preserve and celebrate our rich cultural heritage.
Image credit, final page: Warlurtu (Lake Hopkins) near Kumpul, 2013, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art.
Yilpikarri, Image courtesy of Tjarlirli Art, photographed by Lydia Young
