Keith Wikmunea In Conversation

CONVENTIONAL HISTORICAL RESEARCH, through its predominant written mode – a textual not an aural instrument – tends to produce an abstraction from the daily life of those whose culture is the under study. The hand of an omniscient narrator, dubbed the historian, often guides the reader through the lives of others in the third person, without adequate consideration given to the hegemony of ideologies reproduced in their own voice (Portelli, 1991). Often, an emphasis is placed not so much on how people feel, experience and create meaning from events and memory as conduits of culture, but on constructing an empirical understanding of a progressive line stamped across time to explain and document specific cultural phenomena. This can result in an anti-empathetical approach. In a time where our knowledge of global happenings is cherry picked from a dense foliage of news headlines, the voices of individuals on the ground often become superimposed and sometimes even lost. Oral sources make opportunities for the local point of view to connect with the global, scientific view. It is on this cross-cultural and experiential meeting ground that a multitude of perspectives and varied socio-linguistic origins are related and undergo a process of self-recognition. The dominance of an external narrator as a mouthpiece is challenged through collective participation and dialogue: the interviewer becomes a subject of the discourse as much as those whom they are investigating. Listening to an audio recording also gives greater space for the receiver’s imagination to construct its own bespoke meaning from the undulance, tone, rhythm and velocity in the speaker’s delivery (McHugh, 2016). Oral histories can be productive to a culture’s persistence, serving as educational resources to an upcoming generation for its continuation and development. If language and art-making practices are interlocking puzzle pieces of a cultural landscape at large, accumulative documentation and access to the two are vital for the internal preservation and promotion of that culture, as well as its wider understanding, appreciation and politicisation. Oral expression as a means of passing on knowledge has a rooted and inextricable place in Wik culture. The following transcript, while being a textual source with the potential to distort the emphases of the spoken word, documents a conversation between the senior Wik-Mungkan/Wik-Alken artist, Keith Wikmunea, Wik & Kugu Arts Centre Manager, Gabe Waterman, and JGM Gallery researcher and copywriter, Antonia Crichton-Brown. Wikmunea was brought up from birth in Aurukun and works from The Wik & Kugu Arts Centre, furthering Wik art and culture in his paintings and sculptural schemes. Through his work and word, Wikmunea passes on his artistic and cultural knowledge to Aurukun’s younger generations. misinterpreted through a novel, diverse audience participation. Keith, how does transmitting these works from an immediate and local context in Aurukun to a London gallery space change their meaning, if at all?

In 2023, Wikmunea was nominated as a finalist in the NATSIAA Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art awards, the longest running and richest art award in Australia. Waterman has an academic background in the social sciences and cultural restoration initiatives. He has worked with the Woyan-Min biocultural project, teaching audio-visual skills to youth to record and maintain the language and culture of Aurukun’s elders. Waterman has a strong understanding of Wik-Mungkan, the Wik & Kugu region’s lingua franca, having lived and worked in Aurukun for many years. He works to strengthen the bonds between language, cultural heritage and art in Aurukun. Crichton-Brown is completing her undergraduate degree at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London, focusing her studies on the Aboriginal art industry in Australia, the politics of territorialisation, Indigenous land rights, and postcolonial thought. The following questions were composed by Crichton-Brown in JGM Gallery's London space, sent to Waterman in Aurukun, who then posed them to Wikmunea and provided his own responses where appropriate. The recording of Waterman and Wikmunea’s dialogue is available upon request from The Wik & Kugu Arts Centre. This transcript is not intended to replace it but is suggested as an intertextual resource.

REFERENCES: McHugh, S. (2016). ‘How Podcasting Is Changing the Audio Storytelling Genre’, Radio Journal: International Studies in Broadcast & Audio Media 14 1), 65-82.

Portelli, A. (1991). 'The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History', New York: State University of New York Press.

ANTONIA CRICHTON-BROWN Let’s start with your thoughts and feelings concerning the artists of Wik & Kugu Art Centre’s first international exhibition at JGM Gallery in London. Keith, as a senior Wik-Alken artist, what does having your works exhibited on an international stage mean to you?

KEITH WIKMUNEA

Having my work overseas for the first time is very important to me. My family are proud of me and our culture. I mostly carve and paint my traditional Country called Kencharang. All the lines and dots represent this Country. It’s good to show the world that we have our own style here in Aurukun and I’m happy to be sharing this with people from overseas now.

ACB Could you describe for me, Keith, how your carvings and paintings evidence the cultural responsibilities implicit in representing your Country?

KW The old people used to protect their Poison Grounds (Sacred Places). They had a responsibility of looking after the Land and the Water. Our Poison Places are forbidden areas. People can’t just move around our Country without the proper permission. A Traditional Owner must place underarm smell on anyone that is new to the area. By doing that, people won’t get sick when they visit my Land. This is one of my responsibilities, to keep people safe and protected. My work, and that of the other Wik & Kugu artists, is tied up with important knowledge that was handed down to us by our old people. It is our responsibility to keep this knowledge alive by handing it to our own children and grandchildren. I’m proud of doing my artwork because it gives me the opportunity to show how beautiful our Country is. I can’t paint or carve another person’s Country because it is not right to tell other people’s stories for them. We have lots of Poison Places and Story Places that need to be protected. This is one of my main responsibilities I have as a Wik-Alken man. When I was young, I used to travel with my parents to a place called Kencharang and Ti-tree. We lived on this Country for extended periods of time. My parents showed me our Sacred Places and taught us that we need to be careful when visitors turn up. To keep them safe, I need to put under arm smell on them so that they don’t get sick.

ACB What response do you hope exhibiting your works at JGM Gallery will stimulate from its audience in London?

KW My sculptures and paintings represent the Land where I come from. Sharing it in London is another way for me to share my culture with new people. They can look at where I come from by seeing the ochres that I collect from the saltpan, for example. They will also learn about the Water and the Land that my people have belonged to since the beginning. It’s also good for my family to see this exhibition happen because they are more proud of our culture.

ACB Gabe, as the Art Centre’s manager, could you tell me a little about your experiences at Wik & Kugu working with and for the artists?

GABE WATERMAN Since 2020, I have managed the Wik & Kugu Art Centre for the community in Aurukun. I have worked alongside senior Wik & Kugu artists to develop a revitalised arts and cultural heritage program. More women have started attending the Centre now with exciting work being produced by Flora Woolla, Vera Koomeeta, Devena Wikmunea and Janet Koongotema. Portrayed in the mainstream media as a troubled community, Aurukun is, however, a wellspring of creativity that draws on a highly connected cultural heritage with unbroken ties to the Ancestral past. I have enjoyed working alongside Wik & Kugu artists to make sure their heritage continues into the future.

ACB It sounds as though the Arts Centre’s place in Aurukun extends well beyond the provision of studio space and materials to the artists. Gabe, to what extent does your role as manager extend to maintaining Wik cultural life and responsibilities in Aurukun?

GW As a manager, my responsibility is to support the maintenance of Wik & Kugu cultural heritage within the context of Aurukun’s rich arts heritage. I do this collaboratively with the artists and their families. The production of high-end contemporary visual art has been a focus within my role. Over the past 10 years, the quality of the art produced at the Centre has waned, resulting from a lack of corporate knowledge not being transmitted to on-coming managers. The wheel has been continuously reinvented. Luckily for me, I was able to engage in specialist support from Guy and Gina Allain, long-time supporters of Aurukun arts and culture who had much success working with senior artists in partnership with gallerists such as Martin Brown Contemporary, Sydney and Andrew Baker Fine Art, Brisbane.

ACB I’m interested to discuss whether removing these works from the artists’ Country has potential for the meaning the works produce to be interrupted or

KW The stories that belong to our artworks will always stay the same because they are from the beginning. We will continue to use the timber and ochre that we collect on Country to tell these stories. The meaning of Aak Keenkanam* can be understood as a timeless place that doesn’t change. The artwork that has been created for this exhibition reflects this meaning. The only thing that changes is the fact that these artworks have travelled so far away from their homelands. These stories are ancient and timeless. They don’t change.

ACB How important is it to preserve the original intended meaning of these works at such a great geographic distance from the location of their production? How is best to achieve this?

KW One way to do this is by respecting our culture and by educating yourself on the art and the stories. We support the public to engage deeply with Wik & Kugu culture through visual art. The film that was produced for the exhibition is made in our Wik-Mungkan language. We translated it into English subtitles, but the audience can still hear our First Language and the way we interpret our culture to our own community. The film presents a historic context to the ceremonial heritage of today’s contemporary art forms belonging to the five Clans living in the community.

ACB I noticed that in 2022 at Brunswick Street Gallery, there was an interesting curatorial decision to integrate Ku’ sculpture and painted canvases together. It had an intimate and conversational tone to it. Keith and Gabe, could you share with me your thoughts on the dialogue forged between sculpture and painting at Wik & Kugu and how the two forms relate to one another?

KW The body paint came first. This identifies each Clan from the other. The painting of totems was also part of this culture and Lore. Body paint is representative of the Land from which the Clans come. Each Clan has their own body paint designs. These include particular designs that represent a Ritual Complex which includes many increase-ceremonies related to the Land and the Sea.

GW The painting and sculpture is an ancient practice in Wik & Kugu cultures, so it wasn’t a totally new thing to combine these two forms in the Brunswick Street Gallery exhibition. The aim of the exhibition was to highlight the creativity that is inherent in Wik & Kugu storytelling. The colours used in Janet Koongotema’s acrylic paintings are another way that Wik & Kugu women show their connection to the Land. Acrylic does not diminish the story that the artist is trying to share.

ACB Is there some holistic narrative which only both sculpture and painting displayed in tandem can disclose?

GW I think that the two are complementary. On the one hand, there is the rich cultural heritage of carved animal totems that Aurukun is well known for, and on the other hand, the emergence of women’s painting within the last 15 years is another way for the stories of Country to find expression within a new contemporary context. The narratives that come from the tribal Lands of Wik & Kugu peoples will always remain, in a sense, whole.

ACB Keith, can you tell me a little more about the relationship between Wik animal sculpture and ceremony?

KW In the Mission days, the Clans were still going through Bora (Initiation). The Clans would get together and collect the ochre and timber. They would make their carvings separately. Apalech would make theirs, Winchanam would make theirs. They would get together and dance. You can see this in the 1962 Dances at the Dry Swamps in Aurukun. You can see this today as well. Back in the day, when we had tin houses and bark houses, they would dance in the Mission with all the Clans sitting down with their carvings. In 1962, the Clans moved the Bora ground to Um Toch (Dry Swamps). They would have their own carved things like dogs, crocodiles, sharks, Minh Wuk (Flying Fox). The Clans used to dance with their carvings. Winchanam (Wik-Mungkan inland-speaking Clan) is the Bonefish (Minh Walkalan) and Apalech with the Ku’ (Dog) and Shark, and so on with the other Clans. The carvings are connected to Puulwuy (Our Country).

ACB Keith, can you tell me about the pigments in your work?

KW My colour choices represent my Country like the saltpans, lagoons, rivers and timber Country.

ACB How are they collected?

KW Pigments are collected in a number of ways. Black is harvested from the coals of beach hibiscus, yellow is dug from the saltpans which can also be cooked into red through an oxidisation process, and white is collected from the Arafura red & white cliffs on the coast.

ACB Keith, I’d like to ask you about the stances of Ku’ sculptures. The assertive raised tails and heads of Bruce Bell’s works contrast to the more quietus and stable attributes of your sculptures. What are your considerations in the sculpting process of your works?

KW I work with the natural style of timber. I let the timber do most of the talking but I step in to bring the shape into existence. Each artist freely expresses themselves and the totems they carve. We work within our creative abilities to produce sculptures that highlight the living context of our culture. The movements of the Ku’ reflect this creativity and life.

ACB In your sculptures, Keith, you seem to accentuate the anatomy of the figure through their painted surfaces. Is there something particular about the Ku’ narrative that you seek to demonstrate in your work that differs from other approaches?

KW When I paint on my Ku’ carvings, it is in reference to my Country. The Ku’ is right across our Territories. The coastal Ku’s have unusual patterning and they can sometimes be pure white or pure black. We sometimes paint our sculptures the same way as this.

ACB I understand that you may not be able to speak for Alair Pambegan, however, I was interested in Winchanam Body Paint Design and its bisecting lines with negative space infilled in black, reminiscent of Mondrian’s Modernist grids in primary colours. His desire was said to be communicating something essential about movement and rhythm. It seems to me that, if Pambegan’s Design was painted on a human body, it would divide the figure’s anatomy into blocks with connecting lines much like I see in your Ku’ sculptures, Keith. Could you expand on the relationship between the body and these designs. What does this design tell us about Wik culture and the relationship between Aak Puul (Homeland), body, artistry and motion?

KW The body paint designs are sacred. We call this “Ngench Thayan”. These designs are from the beginning, Aak Keenkanam. They don’t change because they are from a timeless place that is deeply spiritual. Each Clan's unique designs represent the Country that they come from. For example, my Clan, Apalech, represents the Clear Water.

ACB What do you consider to be symbolic about this shift of paint from a human support onto a Modern material support?

KW The shift to modern material is a response to the contemporary practice of visual arts production. Since the 1990’s, Wik people have drawn on their cultural identities in the creation of art. This is a new platform that allows us to assert our ties to Country and Clan.

ACB From my understanding, the production of Wik commercial art started in the 1990s and The Wik & Kugu Arts Centre was established in 2001 to service five Aurukun Clan groups: Apalech, Puch, Sara, Wanam and Winchanam. The Wik Peoples v The State of Queensland & Ors (1996) has been cited as one of the most significant victories in native title superseding pastoral and mining claims to Wik and Wika Waya lands. Peter Sutton has said that “when the Wik people are threatened from outside, they abandon their usual fragmentation and conflict and band together like a solid rock”. Keith, would you describe your work as political? How far does contemporary Wik art correspond to expressing Wik sovereignty?

KW The art that we produce comes from our cultural identity. We are Traditional Owners for particular regions of Land. This is a responsibility that each man and women has been given. We stand up for our Country. This is what we must do. We represent our Puulwuy and stand up and protect our Awa’ (Story Places).

ACB Keith, I was really struck by the translucent layer of pure white in your work, Piintal – Apalech Saltpan Country, which reminded me of the salt sheet left when mineral water evaporates and its salt content dries. It seems as though there is a visual correspondence between the literal texture of the landscape you paint and achieving the same feeling through paint. I notice a similar feature in Leigh Namponan’s Apalech Saltwater Country diptych. Is conjuring a feeling of being in Country important to your work?

KW Yes, it is. When I paint my Country, I show people the special connection we have to our waterways and forests. Our old people are still in our Country. We hear them singing to us through the birds and other animals that live there.

ACB How far do achieving the qualities of texture, layering and depth in your work further your own land relations and your understanding of your cultural inheritance?

KW The layers and texture that I paint are from my experience of walking and living in our Country. When I paint, I can show people a new way to see the Country.

ACB Flora Woolla’s Thukal (Love River) is a truly mesmeric piece. The texture to me seems to come through her use of white earth pigment in gradated thickness, evoking shimmering water. In some parts of Woolla’s painting the pigment is applied opaquely and in others, with a lighter gesture. I get such a great sense of drifting and moving through the image, as if in a state of contemplation. I wonder about the collaborative aspects of the river’s ecosystem that are repre- sented in Woolla’s work. Gabe, to what extent is Woolla’s work about the symbiosis between the water’s ebbs and flow and the bush tucker which its tides reveal? Do the pockets of white pigment represent mud crabs and shells under the river’s surface?

* “Aak Keenkanam”, meaning from the beginning.

GW Flora’s work is compositionally simple with her patterns taking the form of the low tide in the mangroves at Thukal (Love River). The white pigment shows the sandy mudflats that appear after the water runs out to the sea before re-entering and flooding the area once again. There is plenty of bush tucker like mud shells, mud crabs and mangrove oysters that can be collected for eating.

ACB To me, I look at much of the work produced at Wik & Kugu as representing the fluidity, mutability, adaptation and accumulation of Wik culture making headway into, and reorienting, the contemporary art world, seen in the vibrant fusion of the aesthetics of a Wik modernity and a Western industrial modernity. Would you say this is an accurate assessment?

GW Wik culture is ancient. The art is tied to Land, Language and Clan identity. These things are at once unchangeable and yet fluid with the many new ways they find expression. Art is just another way for Wik & Kugu people to express their cultural heritage. The introduction of carpentry tools and techniques in the Mission Times has given the current cohort of male artists the essential tools needed to enter the contemporary art world. The production of art provides an avenue for the artists and their families to make a sustainable living through their work. It also helps the culture find a new context in today’s globalised world without departing from the Traditions handed down to them from the old people. It is an excellent way to maintain part of the cultural heritage belonging to the five Clans living in Aurukun. The culture doesn’t just change. It finds resonance in new contemporary modes of production and storytelling. The Arts Centre has provided a platform for this ancient knowledge to continue by being passed down to the next generation.

ACB Keith, how has your work developed since you began your art making practice? What would you consider as a defining moment that contributed to your own understanding of your work and what you achieve through your process? I’m interested to hear where you see your work going and what transitions and emphases we can expect to see from the works you make next.

KW In the early days, I was making spears, wommera’s (spear throwers) and firesticks. I was taught how to collect the right materials to make these things by my late father. I know how to make all the essential weapons to hunt and live off the Land just as my father and his father did. In 1996, I stepped into the Wik & Kugu Arts Centre for the very first time. I carved my first ever carving which was a white cockatoo, my big totem from my mother’s side. I carved it using Yuk Thanchal (Milkwood), a timber that is preferred by all the artists and is what is used with all the Ku’s. After making my first carving, I decided to explore my other totems and stories. That is why you see me today carving cockatoos in big trees, camp dogs, galahs and plover birds. I’ve just been selected as a finalist in the NATSIAA Telstra Awards in Darwin. I hope to share my art practice and culture with a wider audience. I like working on a big scale and believe this is the future for me and my art. I want to give people an unforgettable experience and understanding when it comes to my people, culture and language.

“Aak” is a Wik-Mungkan Language word that means “Land, Country or Home”. It is often used to signify someone’s traditional Country such as “Aak Puul” meaning “my father’s Country”.

“Keenkanam” in Wik-Mungkan signifies ancient times. When used as Aak Keenkanam, the Land can be understood as being from the beginning.

Artwork Photography: Daniel Browne.

© 2023 JGM Gallery. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-7392905-5-9