BELONGING TO MARTU
“When Martu paint, it’s like a map.
Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where people used to walk, and [some you] can’t cross, like boundaries. So nowadays you see a colourful painting and wonder what it is, but that’s how Martu tell story long ago. It’s not just a lovely painting, it’s a story and a songline and a history and everything that goes with it.” - Ngalangka Nola Taylor & Joshua Booth
MARTUMILI BELONGING TO MARTU 5 SEPTEMBER - 30 OCTOBER 2020 SUN VALLEY, USA
COVER: BUGAI WHYOULTER Parnngurr 24 x 24” (61 x 61cm) Catalog #471-15
BUGAI WHYOULTER BIDDY BUNAWARRIE CORBAN CLAUSE WILLIAMS CYRIL WHYOULTER JAKAYU BILAJABU KUMPAYA GIRGIRBA NGAMARU BIDU
LEFT: BUGAI WHYOULTER Wantili (detail) 30 x 60” (91 x 121cm) Catalog #1132-19
MARTUMILI | BELONGING TO MARTU The traditional lands of the Martu people encompass the Great Sandy Desert and Rudall River regions of Western Australia, and include speakers of Manyjilyjarra, Warnman, Kartujarra, Putijarra and Martu Wangka languages. Martumili Artists work in the Newman based gallery and studio spaces, as well as within remote Aboriginal communities Punmu, Parnngurr, Kunawarritji, Jigalong, Irrungadji (Nullagine), and Warralong. Recognised for their diverse, energetic and unmediated painting styles, their works reflect the dramatic geography and scale of their homelands. The artists are predominantly painters, working in acrylics and oils, though many also weave baskets from gathered grasses and wool. Popular mediums among younger Martu artists include photography and animation. The group proudly maintain their creative practices whilst pursuing social and cultural obligations across the Martu homelands. Martu elders formed their art centre and named it Martumili (Belonging to Martu). “When Martu paint, it’s like a map. Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where people used to walk, and [some you] can’t cross, like boundaries. So nowadays you see a colourful painting and wonder what it is, but that’s how Martu tell story long ago. It’s not just a lovely painting, it’s a story and a songline and a history and everything that goes with it.” - Ngalangka Nola Taylor and Joshua Booth This body of work portrays Country, often aerial representation of a particular location known to the artists- land that they or their family travelled, from the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) era to now. During the pujiman period, Martu would traverse very large distances annually in small family groups, moving seasonally from water source to water source, and hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went. At this time, one’s survival depended on their intimate knowledge of the location of resources; thus physical elements of Country, such as sources of kapi (water), tali (sandhills), different varieties of warta (trees, vegetation), ngarrini (camps), and jina (tracks) are typically recorded with the use of a use of a system of iconographic forms universally shared across the desert. Additional layers of meaning in the work relates to more intangible concepts; life cycles based around kalyu (rain, water) and waru (fire) are also often evident. A thousands of year old practice, fire burning continues to be carried out as both an aid for hunting and a means of land management today. As the Martu travelled and hunted they would burn tracts of land, ensuring plant and animal biodiversity and reducing the risk of unmanageable, spontaneous bush fires. The patchwork nature of regrowth is evident in many landscape works, with each of the five distinctive phases of fire burning visually described with respect to the cycle of burning and regrowth. Finally, metaphysical information relating to a location may also be recorded; Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives chronicle the creation of physical landmarks, and can be referenced through depictions of ceremonial sites, songlines, and markers left in the land. Very often, however, information relating to Jukurrpa is censored by omission, or alternatively painted over with further layers. Harvey Art Projects is proud to present Belonging To Martu here in the USA during such difficult times in 2020. Many of these artists have endured much hardship due to restricitons enforced by Covid19. We send our heartfelt thanks to Bugai, Jakayu, Ngamaru, Kumpaya, Biddy, Corban and Cyril for generously sharing their energy and country with our US audiences. We also gratefully acknowledge managers Abby Holt, Carly Day and all staff at Martumili Art Centre in assisting in mounting this special international exhibit so far from home.
KUMPAYA GIRGIRBA Minyipuru (Seven Sisters) 72 x 72� (182 x 182cm) Catalog #335-16
NGAMARU BIDU Wantili (detail) 30 x 47� (76 x 121cm) Catalog #1015-19
CYRIL WHYOULTER All my Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s Country 36 x 24” (91 x 61cm) Catalog #1481-19
CORBAN CLAUSE WILLIAMS Kaalpa (Well 23) 30 x 30”(76 x 76cm) Catalog #763-18
CYRIL WHYOULTER Sun Man, Moon Dogs (Wilarra Jarntu Dreaming) 30 x 60� (76 x 152cm) Catalog #715-17
BIDDY BUNAWARRIE Untitled 36 x 24” (91 x61cm) Catalog #1141-19
JAKAYU BILJABU Minyipuru -Seven Sisters (detail) 30 x 60� (152 x 76cm) Catalog #626-15
BUGAI WHYOULTER Karturru (detail) 30 x 60� (152 x 76cm) Catalog #403-15
5 September - 30 October 2020 Harvey Art Projects Sun Valley USA All images courtesy Martumili 2020 Copyright HAP USA 2020