Yoi | Exhibition Catalogue

JGM GALLERY ACKNOWLEDGES THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS AND CUSTODIANS OF COUNTRY THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA AND RECOGNISES THEIR CONTINUING CONNECTION TO THE LAND, WATERS AND SKIES,

OFTEN EXPRESSED THROUGH ART.

WE PAY OUR RESPECTS TO ARTISTS, ELDERS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.

AN EXHIBITION OF PAINTINGS FROM THE MUNUPI ARTS & CRAFTS ASSOCIATION

21 FEBRUARY TO 13 APRIL 2024

JGM GALLERY PRESENTS YOI AN EXHIBITION OF WORKS FROM THE MUNUPI ARTS & CRAFTS ASSOCIATION. THE MUNUPI ARTS & CRAFTS ASSOCIATION IS LOCATED IN PIRLANGIMPI, ON MELVILLE ISLAND’S NORTH-WESTERN COASTLINE, NORTH OF DARWIN.

FEATURED ARE PAINTINGS BY NINE ARTISTS, EACH CHARACTERISED AND ALIGNED BY THE EXPRESSIVE MARKS THEY EMPLOY. OFTEN PAINTED WITH NATURAL OCHRES AND A PWOJA COMB, THESE CANVASES POSSESS A UNIQUE TEXTURAL MATERIALITY. AT FIRST GLANCE, THEY ARE SEEMINGLY ASEMIC IN APPEARANCE. FOR EXAMPLE, ALISON PURUNTATAMERI’S WINGA , MEANING "TIDAL MOVEMENT" OR "WAVES", ALLUDES TO THE RHYTHMIC MOVEMENT OF THE NATURAL WORLD. THE RESULT, FREE FROM A MIMETIC REPRESENTATION OF REALITY, IS INHERENTLY ABSTRACT IN FORM.

THIS EXPRESSION OF GESTURAL ENERGY OFFERS A UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO THE MOVEMENT OF THE ARTIST AND, BY EXTENSION, THE HUMAN PRESENCE OUT OF WHICH ART EMERGES; THE ARTIST’S MARK CARRIES THE TESTIMONY OF ITS AUTHOR AND THUS THE IDENTITY OF THE ARTIST THEMSELF.

DELVING DEEPER INTO THE MARK-MAKING TECHNIQUES OF TIWI ART, ONE FINDS THAT THEY EMANATE A DISTINCTLY SPIRITUAL PRESENCE. DANCING, OR "YOI", PLAYS A LARGE PART OF LIFE ON THE TIWI ISLANDS. DEPICTIONS OF CONCENTRIC CIRCULAR MOTIFS, AS FEATURED IN JOSEPHINE BURAK’S MILIMIKA OUTLINE THE CEREMONIAL DANCING GROUND. NARRATIVE DANCES ARE A KEY FEATURE OF RITUAL ACTIVITY. THEY CAN DEPICT BOTH EVERYDAY LIFE AND HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT EVENTS. DURING THESE DANCES, THE PARTICIPANTS PAINT THEIR BODIES WITH NATURAL OCHRES, USING DESIGNS THAT ALSO APPEAR ON THE CANVASES IN YOI . ONCE AGAIN, MOVEMENT IS BROUGHT INTO DIRECT DIALOGUE WITH NARRATIVE, AS THE BODY IS WITH LANGUAGE. IN THE WORDS OF JUDITH RYAN (ART AND AUSTRALIA, 1997): " FOR TIWI PEOPLE, TO SING IS TO DANCE IS TO PAINT. "

THE PAINTINGS IN THIS EXHIBITION ALL SHARE A COMMON THREAD. IN TIWI CULTURE, DANCE IS ESTABLISHED AS CORPOREAL COMMUNICATION. IN A SOMEWHAT PARALLEL MOTION, THE CANVASES DISPLAY GESTURE. CONTRARY TO THE VENTURE OF MANY WESTERN PAINTERS, THE FINISHED PRODUCT INVITES THE VIEWER TO SAVOUR AND ENJOY THE MOVEMENT WHICH LED TO THE ARTWORK'S CREATION.

JENNIFER GUERRINI MARALDI (DIRECTOR OF JGM GALLERY) WRITES THAT "IN 2017, I TRAVELLED TO THE TIWI ISLANDS, WHERE I FIRST SAW THE WORK OF MANY OF THE EXHIBITING ARTISTS. THEIR PAINTINGS, AND THE LANDSCAPES THAT INSPIRED THEM, LEFT AN INDELIBLE IMPRESSION ON ME. THOUGH INTRICATELY CONSTRUCTED, THESE WORKS POSSESS AN IRREPRESSIBLE POWER. THEY ARE TENDER YET BOLD, A SUBLIME ACCUMULATION OF SUBTLE INTERCONNECTIONS."

EXHIBITING ARTISTS INCLUDE: ALISON PURUNTATAMERI | ARTHUR JOHN COWELL CAROL PURUNTATAMERI CHRISTINE PURUNTATAMERI DELORES TIPUAMANTUMIRRI DOROTHY NONI POANTIMULUI | JOSEPHINE BURAK LUCINDA PURUNTATAMERI | SIMPLICIA TIPUNGWUTI.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD BY JENNIFER GUERRINI MARALDI 8

CURATORIAL COMMENTARY BY CHLOE REDSTON 9 - 14

IN CONVERSATION WITH GUY ALLAIN & CHLOE REDSTON 17 - 22

ARTWORKS 23 - 48

EXHIBITING AT JGM GALLERY LONDON

Alison Puruntatameri with a Pwoja Comb. Image courtesy of Guy and Gina Allain, and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.

"THESE WORKS CONTAIN AN IRREPRESSIBLE POWER AND SPEAK TO THE SKILL AND ENDURING SPIRIT OF THE TIWI PEOPLE. THEY ARE TENDER YET BOLD, A SUBLIME ACCUMULATION OF SUBTLE INTERCONNECTIONS..."

- Jennifer guerrini maraldi

FOREWORD

BY JENNIFER GUERRINI MARALDI

IFIRST TRAVELLED to the Tiwi Islands in 2017 to visit The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, located on Melville Island, the largest of the two Tiwi isles. Here, blue skies adjoin lucid ocean waters, rising and receding on crystalline sand banks. The island's beaches border a dense environment of mangroves and rich ecosystems, brimming with crabs, oysters and fish – the major food source for the Tiwi People.

As is often the case when I visit an art centre, my initial feeling was that this landscape defied representation, that one could not capture its magic through illustration or photography alone. Indeed, this is one of the more interesting aspects of my job. Contrary to the experience of most gallerists, I often view the subject matter before I see how it is represented. An equivalent, perhaps, would be to view the portrait of someone you already know.

The paintings I was shown by the art centre's Manager, Guy Allain, in turn, defied my expectations. They captured the land, and the Tiwi People's relationship to it, in a holistic way that went far beyond simply illustrating the landscape. Alison Puruntatameri's paintings in Yoi to name one example of this aesthetic approach, remind me of that day on Melville Island so vividly, mimicking as they do the crashing of waves and the gradual accumulation of sand and water on the shoreline. The crimson palette recalls the warm, seductive temperature of the island and the intermittent highlights of white shimmer like the ocean water.

I have met with Guy every year since 2017, as he presents the work of Munupi artists in Darwin each August. I have watched these artists develop and hone their skills and to my mind, their works are amongst the most intricately constructed in the Contemporary Aboriginal Art Movement. Though not exclusively so, it is an artistry often characterized by subtlety and precision and to me their art has always exemplified the power of delicacy and minute consideration.

These works contain an irrepressible power and speak to the skill and enduring spirit of the Tiwi People. They are tender, yet bold, a sublime accumulation of subtle interconnections that immediately take me back to the unique beauty of Australia's Tiwi Islands.

Jennifer Guerrini Maraldi, 2024. Image courtesy of Julius Killerby.

CURATORIAL COMMENTARY BY CHLOE REDSTON

CHLOE REDSTON IS A GALLERY ASSISTANT AT JGM GALLERY. REDSTON HAS RECENTLY GRADUATED WITH A MASTERS DEGREE IN HISTORY OF ART AT THE COURTAULD INSTITUTE OF ART IN LONDON, SPECIALISING IN INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN THE VERBAL AND VISUAL, FROM THE BIRTH OF MODERNISM TO THE PRESENT. HER STUDIES HAVE PRIMARILY FOCUSED ON CONTEMPORARY DIALOGUES WITH ANTIQUITY AND THE POETICS OF ABSTRACTION.

THE TIWI ISLANDS, located off the Northern coast of Darwin, comprise Melville and Bathurst Islands, and a number of smaller, neighbouring uninhabited islands. They are home to around 2,500 inhabitants – roughly 2,200 of whom identify as Aboriginal, speaking Tiwi as their first language, and whose ancestors have likely occupied the islands for up to 20,000 years. Although colonisation has had a destabilising effect on the livelihoods of the Tiwi people, they have, despite this, maintained a large degree of self-governance, resulting in a remarkable and dynamic culture. Art is central to Tiwi life; not only does the sale of creative arts form a higher relative proportion of income than any other local government area in Australia, but it stays true to a tradition so antique that it borders on the unimaginable. As such, Tiwi Art reflects the nuanced relationship between all aspects of life on the islands, so fostered over many millennia. The term "relationship", however, falls short of expressing the complex, inseparable and interconnected nature between the visual arts, music, dance and Country in Tiwi culture, attests Dr David Sequeira of the University of Melbourne. These aspects are linked by a certain spiritual presence, and one which many of the works in this exhibition emanate. Ceremonies provide a forum of artistic expression and dancing, or rather Yoi, which function as an integral role in such activity. When a series of Yoi are performed, some are totemic, some serve to act out newly composed songs, but all possess a narrative function. During such time, participants are painted with natural ochres which take the form of countless, intricate designs called Jilamara. Marks can demonstrate a simultaneously individual and collective voice, recalling elaborate foundational mythologies, everyday life, historic and recent events. These patterns are echoed throughout Tiwi material culture and are transposed onto many of the works in Yoi.

The works in Yoi are each characterised and aligned by the expressive marks they employ. The characteristic mark-making of the Tiwi People exemplifies a process by which surface and mark interact in a dialectic exchange; the mark releases the generative power of the surface. The repetitive and geometric patterns of Lucinda Puruntatameri’s Pupuni Jilamara, for example, though at first glance appear

asemic, hint at more than what is displayed through a sense of movement. The two-toned and simplified palette, when combined with the almost mechanical rhythm of marks, paradoxically uniform and yet fluid, creates a sense of hypnosis that resonates with a higher spiritual plane. Manager of the Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, Guy Allain, argues that this effect urges the viewer "... to discover other aspects of our humanity deeply embedded in the Tiwi cosmology – those which are as complex as Greek, Latin or other world mythologies. All of these are parts that play through our universal cultural kaleidoscope." As such, let us first situate an understanding of these practices within a classical aetiology. We can consider abstraction within a framework of difference, between the representational and self-referential line of the artist. An aetiological account of drawing, narrated by the Elder Pliny, effectively conveys this difference. Pliny’s first account explains that the artist Parrhasius gained distinction through his drawing of outlines and contours. The tale establishes the generative quality of the artist’s mark, which is both created and creating and suggests a notional reality beyond what it actually shows. In the second account, Pliny speaks of a competition between the artists Apelles and Protegenes. The former marks his presence in the latter's studio through a fine-drawn line. Upon seeing the drawing, Protegenes was instantly aware of its maker and drew a second, finer line. Apelles drew a third and final line, "... leaving no room for any further display of minute work." The meaning has been the subject of much debate by art historians. David Rosand effectively summarises the connotations of Pliny’s accounts: "... the line of Apelles is self-indicative; its reference is to itself, and, through itself, ultimately to its maker." On the other hand, Parrhasius’ is "... pictorial, representational..." and its intended purpose is to allude to a mimetic representation of reality. These two examples represent the dichotomy of drawing: the surface mark, which refers to its maker, and its intended representational illusion. When interpreted in conjunction, they provide a framework for the understanding of the processes of abstraction, and indeed, Tiwi Art.

Absolute notions surrounding the artist’s mark become somewhat obscured within the realm of abstraction, and, even more so in Tiwi Art. We can extend the axiom of Pliny’s Apelles, in which a retrospective line becomes an emblem of authorial presence, to the work of Tiwi artists. In Josephine Burak’s Milimika, marks and paint interact, partially obscuring each other, and overlap in a repetitive action which recalls the very intricacies of the hand that made them. This expression of gestural energy, the primacy of which is often emphasised through Tiwi mark-making, offers a unique insight into the movement of the artist and, by extension, the human presence out of which art emerges; the artist’s mark carries the testimony of its author and thus the identity of the artist herself. Moreover, the reference of the non-representational line to the hand that made it simultaneously mirrors the practice of Jilamara. The allusion is thus doubleedged; " ... the painted body, the body as a canvas, is somehow turned around in a reversed polarity, transposed as such to a canvas." Though, at first, they seem to resist the urge of mimetic imperative, the marks in Milimika begin to form mesmerising concentric circles. A recurring motif in Tiwi Art, these circles allude to ceremonial dancing grounds. Suddenly the illusion of abstraction is broken. We may once again return to the aphorism of Pliny’s Parrhasius, as the artist’s mark becomes, in effect, one with the object depicted. As such, each mark is, in fact, a meticulously constructed seme – or unit of meaning. When interpreted together they create a complete portrait of Tiwi ceremonial activity. We might therefore consider Tiwi Art alongside the aesthetic sensibilities of Western abstraction, and yet, the weight of spiritual significance, alluded to by the context, extends far beyond our expectations. Demonstrating a synthesis of art in all its forms, for the Tiwi People " ... to sing is to dance is to paint."

Each work in Yoi carries with it an unwavering freight of cultural significance, made all the more emphatic by an incomprehensibly deep and spiritual connection to homeland. Often painted with natural ochres, the very physiognomy of the works echoes that of the landscape. For example, Alison Puruntatameri’s Winga paintings, meaning "tidal movement" or "waves", allude to the rhythmic movement of the natural world through a gestural bodily presence – an organic reaction to her surrounding landscape. This affectation, enacted upon the artist, is recalled by the paintings’ materiality. Accumulations of vibrant natural ochres on a black background, applied with a Pwoja Comb, parallel the luminescent reverberation of the waters and coastlines around the islands. The textural layering of paint, applied in a dense linear formation, attacks the linen as though waves crashing upon the shore. This motion speaks to the continuity of natural processes which subsequently situates an interpretation of her art within the passing of time and a broader cosmology. Tiwi Art presents a unique ode to nature. Remarkably, this has contributed to data showing changes in climate-

Chloe Redston, 2024, standing with Kitty Simon's Minamina Dreaming - Minamina Juk (2019). Image courtesy of Julius Killerby.

Opposite: Alison Puruntatameri, Winga III 2020, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm. Image courtesy of Studio Adamson.

"Each work in yoi carries with it an unwavering freight of cultural significance, made all the more emphatic by an incomprehensibly deep and spiritual connection to homeland."

- chloe redston

sensitive biophysical systems that would otherwise remain undetected by instruments conventionally used for monitoring climate change. A reliance on bush harvest, natural materials and medicinal plants, as well as the centrality of the environment to a sense of cultural identity, has attuned Tiwi Islanders to any changes that may take place and fostered a symbiotic relationship, centred around stewardship, over many years. As a result, there is both an individual and collective commitment to sustainable management of lands. Indigenous observations of geomorphological changes, often documented through art, have hence also contributed to a post-colonial regaining of ownership.

There is, in Tiwi Art, a sense of the antique, not only by matter of the sheer age of this tradition but by the intricacies and nuances which unify all aspects of life on the islands. Though ostensibly nonrepresentational, Tiwi abstraction is such that the voices of those who make it persist and urge us to enjoy the movement which has ended up here. An aetiological comparison offered by the Elder Pliny, attempts to illuminate a practice of interconnectivity within the Western imagination, but also, aids us in comprehending the emphasis on continuity within contemporary Tiwi Art: "The songs and the dance connect to our ancestors and the Wulimawi (Elders)… As we are moving forward, we still need to connect. The song connects to the dance. The dance, the body painting and the ceremonial body ornaments connect to the art we make." Moreover, the symbiotic relationship between people, land and sea offers unprecedented insight into climate concerns, as such imbuing Tiwi Art with an all the more significant sense of contemporaneousness. Just as we look to a classical past to explain the present, in the words of artist Pedro Wonaeamirri: "... the old and the new coming together is our story, from Parlingarri (Long Time Ago) to today, moving forward but always remembering." Each work in Yoi thus represents a transcription of the almost inexplicable within the not-so opposing frameworks of tradition and progress in contemporary Tiwi Art.

FOOTNOTES

Jon Barnett et al., 'Winga Is Trying to Get in: Local Observations of Climate Change in the Tiwi Islands', Earth's Future, 11 (March 2023), 3.

Tiwi People, who were originally spread out across the islands, were placed into three settlements by colonisers. Once noted for their physical health at the time of European contact, they now suffer from a range of illnesses, including very high rates of kidney disease, which result in a death rate that is six times that of the Australian mainstream population. Another consequence was the introduction of destructive non-native species, lacking in natural predators. Now, however, the Tiwi are the legal owners and custodians of the land.

Barnett et al., Ibid.

David Sequeira, Yoyi (Dance): Communicating Tiwi Knowledge around Change, Continuity, and Tradition (University of Melbourne, 2022), 2:55, https://youtu.be/CR2NzkebpW0, (accessed 4 January 2024).

The Pukumani ceremony, for example, considered the most significant of a person's life, ensures the transition of a spirit into the next life. Yoi might reflect an expression of grief, narrate the life of the deceased, or even be performed by kin, whilst Jilamara provide protection against recognition by the spirit of the deceased.

Guy Allain (in conversation with the author), 2024.

Pliny. Natural History, Volume IX: Books 33-35. Translated by H Rackham. Loeb Classical Library 330, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1938), XXXV, 81-83.

David Rosand, "Criticism, Connoisseurship, and the Phenomenology of Drawing," in Drawing Acts: Studies in Graphic Expression and Representation (Cambridge University Press, 2002), 8.

Ibid

Guy Allain (in conversation with the author), 2024.

Judith Ryan and James Bennett, In Conversation, Milikapiti, (1994), in, Judith Ryan, "The Raw and the Cooked: The Aesthetic Principle in Aboriginal Art", NGV Art Journal, 36 (June 2014).

The Pwoja is a traditional Tiwi Comb. Unique to the Tiwi People, each one is individually made from ironwood to suit the needs of each artist. Multiple lines of dots are created by dipping the Pwoja's teeth in the ochre colours and then pressed onto the surface of the canvas to create this mark-making effect.

Pedro Wonaeamirri, Mintawinga Amitiya Wurrungura: from Bark to Moving Image (University of Melbourne, 2022).

Ibid

in conversation with guy allain

GUY ALLAIN IS THE ART CENTRE MANAGER OF THE MUNUPI ARTS & CRAFTS ASSOCIATION, LOCATED ON MELVILLE ISLAND'S NORTH-WESTERN COASTLINE. HE HAS WORKED AND LIVED ALONGSIDE THE TIWI PEOPLE FOR TEN YEARS, ENGAGING CLOSELY WITH THE COMMUNITY, PROVIDING ENCOURAGEMENT, AND FACILITATING THE PROVISION OF NECESSARY TOOLS FOR THE PRESERVATION AND PROMOTION OF TIWI MATERIAL CULTURE.

CHLOE REDSTON Guy, can you please start by explaining what you believe to be the mission of the Munupi Arts & Crafts Association?

GUY ALLAIN Munupi Art is an Aboriginal non-profit organisation owned and governed by the artists. Its general purpose is to nurture and promote artistic endeavours, support cultural practices and work toward the economic advancement of its members through the production, preservation, promotion and sale of their artworks. It is also, at its core, a social enterprise which aims to provide fundamental economic, social and cultural benefits in an environment which is highly affected by socio-economic issues and where opportunities are scarce.

CR As the Art Centre Manager, could you please tell us a little bit about your experiences, working with and for the artists at Munupi?

GA I feel enormously privileged to have had the opportunity to work and live with the Tiwi artists at Munupi Art for 10 years. This follows 5 years as Art Centre Manager in Aurukun, Cape York, Far North Queensland (2007-2012). Working with Aboriginal People has changed both mine and my family’s lives enormously. Working in the art and culture of remote Aboriginal communities is very rewarding as you are learning and engaging closely with the community –which is something that stimulates enduring bonds. You just have to try your best to create good outcomes and changes. You are assisting the artists to be recognized outside of their community, in Australia and internationally. It has changed my life, but it is also changing theirs by bringing opportunities where there are few. The other side of the coin is the highly challenging environment, the extreme disadvantages affecting Aboriginal people, high levels of incarceration, suicide, enormous health issues – the early death rates due to ill health and low economic opportunities, a broad range of socio-economic ills, the on-going result from a history that did not appreciate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders culture, high creativity, enormous skills, knowledge and contribution. These are still

not fully appreciated in our affluent Western society. I take great satisfaction in contributing to the recognition of these artists as they become highly regarded for their formidable creativity in the contemporary art domain, and seeing the changes that take place and the rising high profile of these artists and the art centre. We present each year in Darwin at the Hilton Double Tree – an annual Tiwi Art exhibition – which is now well reputed amongst Australian Art institution curators, gallery directors, collectors and aficionado’s coming from all over the country and internationally to join us for the exuberant Yoi on the opening day. This is one of the many remarkable achievements from Munupi Art and its artists.

CR To what extent does your role as Art Centre Manager extend to preserving the cultural heritage of the Tiwi Islands?

GA The role of an Art Centre Manager in an Aboriginal art centre involves, amongst many other tasks: curation and promotion of the art, the providing of resources for ceremonies, educational initiatives, documentation, advocacy, artbusiness management and the recognition and protection of cultural traditions. It is like you are on call 24 hours a day. The core material that the Tiwi people are drawing on to create their artworks is their tradition, their culture, their language, songs, stories, and kinships. These are strong and alive in the Tiwi Islands and are core values in the community. Through the years, I have been exposed to, and have come to understand, the sophistication and depth of their cosmology –although I acknowledge I still only know it superficially – it has become evident that this source of knowledge is the great inspiration of a living culture, where great artists can participate, create and innovate. My role is really to encourage, to provide the environment, facilitate the provision of the necessary tools, materials, resources and business guidance needed for the maintenance and proliferation of the fascinating Tiwi worldview through the arts.

CR How do you believe the artists exhibited at JGM Gallery best display the key tenets of Tiwi life through their art?

GA Each of these artists use their imagination to create new from the old, creating contemporary works that are Tiwi at their core. All these artworks have the marks, the familiarity, of a recognizable Tiwi essence. They are undoubtedly Tiwi and grounded in Tiwi culture. There is a simplification and minimalism in the works of Carol Puruntatameri, who expresses in her artwork one of the stories of the ancestor Purrukapali at Yipali, one of the homelands. Simplicia Tipungwuti’s intricate rhythmic compositions represent the creation story of Mundungkala, the Goddess creator of the Tiwi Islands. There is a sense of the Tiwi tides, the currents and undercurrents in Alison Puruntatameri and Delores Tipuamantumirri’s artworks. Josephine Burak and Christine Puruntatameri, in their own ways, employ both geometrical patterns derived from body paintings, and traditional symbolic iconography, to evoke Tiwi fundamental cultural tenets – indicated, from the least, by the titles of their artworks – and create dynamic contemporary abstractions which also resonate intimately with the Tiwi’s ancestral stories and songs. Are any of these connotations necessary for the appreciation of these artworks? The subjectivity of the artist who uses her own points of reference in her creative practice does not have to match with the viewer's perspective or an appreciation of a specific cultural context that is associated with the artwork, but it is not exclusive. It also may bring the viewer to seek to discover other aspects of our humanity deeply embedded in the Tiwi cosmology – as complex as Greek, Latin or other world mythologies. All these are parts that play through our universal cultural kaleidoscope. They are all valid and important cultural building blocks of the world we live in, and should be appreciated as they are for what they are, and for their distinctive contributions to the contemporary art of today.

CR What function does Yoi play within the community and how prevalent is it?

GA Yoi (Dancing) is central to ceremony and the way of life in the Tiwi Islands. Ceremonies are deeply rooted and important to the Tiwi. Tiwi kinship is customary, everyone inherits their skin group – their Totem – from their mother, and their Country and dance from their father. Songs, dance, stories, body painting and ceremonial carvings are integral to the various ceremonial rituals and performances known as Yoi. It is an all embracing art form. Pukamani (mourning) ceremonies are very important events, where family members will travel between the communities to share their respect and participate in these celebratory performances. Groups of Pukamani poles, installation like sculptures which

"Contemporary munupi art and its artists are on the move, creating work that reflects tiwi culture but also the specific facets of our humanity."

- Guy Allain

Above: Alison Puruntatameri, 2023. Image courtesy of Guy and Gina Allain, and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.

Opposite: Josephine Burak, Milimika III 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm.

Image courtesy of Studio Adamson.

stand through the bush, are like witnesses of these ceremonies and performances, where families meet to express their grief and allow the spirit of the deceased to find comfort, and attest to an ongoing living culture. These are memorial sites, a physical, in-Country memorialization of people, events, and cosmology in the most pure sense. Yoi are not fixed. They evolve, change, absorb new concepts where new songs and dances are being created to fit with a living culture, like the remarkable " Bombing of Darwin" dance, which commemorate the events of 1942, or when the community members, cultural leaders, senior song men and dancers and artists joined together to perform Yoi for the opening of the newly constructed studio at Munupi Art. These are immersive and powerful events, total performance that blurs any distinctions between performers and spectators. The Yoi reverberate the rhythms of the Islands which in turn are mirrored in these contemporary artworks, budding from this same source.

CR As exemplified by Josephine Burak’s evocation of body painting, or the inherently gestural presence within many of these images, what is the unique relationship between Tiwi Art and the body?

GA Tiwi Art, at its core, is ceremonial. The genesis of Tiwi Culture lies with the story of Mundungkala, the Goddess of creation. The first ceremony, the Pukamani ceremony, was called by Purukupali (son of Mundungkala) for his baby Jinani, who was the first Tiwi person to die. All the ancestor beings were summoned to attend and participate. These ceremonies, with their songs and dances, also include elaborate geometric patterns and motifs that are painted to cover the monumental Tutini (Pukamani Poles), other ceremonial objects – for example: Tunga (Bark Baskets) – and spears, as well as the whole body of the participants. Using their ochre colours, these remarkable painted designs are applied to their faces and bodies with the aim of concealing their identity from the spirits of the dead. These body paintings are the source of creative inspiration for the Tiwi artists, which they reinvent on their canvases, but each with their own individual spark. The painted body, the body as a canvas, is somehow turned around in a reversed polarity, transposed as such to a canvas.

CR What is a Pwoja comb, how is it used and what effect does it have?

GA The Tiwi Pwoja – also known as Kayimwagakini, is the traditional wooden tool used in body painting, and now on the canvas. Each one is individually made from ironwood to suit the needs of the artist. Multiple lines of dots are created by dipping the Pwoja’s teeth in the ochre colours and then applied on the surface of the canvas. This tool, unique in Australia to the Tiwi People, is used to create the rhythmic lines of dots, cross hatchings, parallel linear lines, triangular lines, diamonds, undulating compositions, shifting alignments, lace-like patterns, and a whole gamut of geometric and abstract patterns. Its particular use reflects the individual imagination and creativity of each artist, and their highly personal aesthetic choice in the visual interpretation of a specific aspect of Tiwi Art and culture.

CR Dr David Sequeira, speaking at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute’s 2022 Intersections Symposium, talks about the relationship between the visual arts, music, dance and Country of Tiwi People and how the term, "relationship", falls somewhat short of conveying how immensely interconnected these elements are. Could you elaborate on their inseparability?

“ Personally, I believe that the restrictive distinction which separates Aboriginal Art from contemporary art is way out of date, obsolete, and somewhat frustrating.” - guy allain

CR Can you delve into more detail about some of the recurring themes and symbolism within Tiwi Art, including the nature of the marks or inclusion of concentric circular motifs, and what we might be able to infer from them?

GA Interpreting symbols and themes associated with these Tiwi artworks (a concept valid when approaching any artwork) is a rather personal experience, even if there are interpersonal aspects that are obvious once one becomes more familiar with Tiwi cosmology and culture. The circular motif is often associated with Kulama ceremonies, and the obvious strong and straight symmetrical aspects, which appear at times in some artworks, may be a residual aspect of Catholic education from Mission times. Something very unique to Tiwi Art is that the designs applied to their ceremonial artworks, and now to their contemporary artworks, have only little formal meaning – if any. Each of these artworks depend on the vision, the imagination and creativity of each artist. However, the type of overall ornamentation used in ceremonies by the participants are much more associated with kinships and totemic relationships. Many of these facial designs are associated with specific Totemic creatures or creation stories. They are a very intricate visual language imbued with deep cultural intrinsic relevancies but they also demonstrate a powerful drive towards artistic expression, towards beauty… Tiwi culture is made of levels upon levels of intricacies that each Tiwi artist may choose to use and that we as the viewer may wish to seek to understand – but they are not necessary to grasp the artist's individual drives towards excellence in the arts!

GA I am not aware of David Sequeira’s speech, however, I can comment on the inseparability – rather than " relationship" – of the visual arts, music, dance, and the connection to Country within Tiwi culture. These are deeply rooted and entrenched in the cultural practices and the cosmology of the Tiwi, as well as in many other Indigenous communities. Judith Ryan succinctly conveys this interdependency with the title of the catalogue’s first chapter for the Tiwi exhibition at the NGV in Melbourne " To Sing is to Dance is to Paint" . Interrelatedness, issued from kinship in the Tiwi community through the mother’s side and to Country from the father’s side, results in inextricable links that are imbued in the Tiwi creation stories from the beginning of time up to today. This is a continuum that weaves a cobweb of associations, a network of connections, where all things interact and are dependent on each other. Tiwi identity is anchored in Parlingarri (Long Time Ago), such as the first Pukamani ceremony which marks the end of creation time. In the Tiwi Islands, art and cultural life are ingrained and inseparable.

CR Especially with regards to a gallery space in London, do you think that taking these works out of their immediate context of the Tiwi Islands and transposing them into a different setting changes their meaning?

GA I shall quote Jennifer Isaacs who in her comprehensive book Tiwi: Art, History, Culture, explains that " ... distinct in style and form, the art of the Tiwi may be rooted in tradition and ceremony but not all can, or should be explained. The Tiwi artists feel the interior meaning of paintings is changeable and is theirs to know or think about at a given time. Recording a story tightens the meaning of a work in a restrictive manner. The real feeling in the work is primarily only in the artist’s own mind and not necessarily something the purchasers of the painting, whether galleries or collectors, should need or want to know. As meaning probably only occurs subconsciously during the making process, expanding on it for others would seem, to Tiwi, somewhat irrelevant."

Personally, I believe that the restrictive distinction which separates Aboriginal Art from Contemporary Art is way out of date, obsolete, and somewhat frustrating.

Witness: the marvellous Aboriginal artworks from Steve Martin’s art collection, displayed in a recent exhibition at Gagosian in New York; the six paintings from contemporary Aboriginal artists from the Kaplan Levy collection gifted to the

MET in New York; the Sally Gabori exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain Paris, 2022. These are just a few examples from a long list that corroborate the art critic Robert Hughes' famous description of Aboriginal Art as the " ... last great art movement of the 20th century."

CR How best do you think we can convey this interconnectedness within a gallery setting?

GA The displayed Tiwi artworks are all painted with the natural traditional ochres, grounded as such in the earth of Country, as well as referencing Tiwi cosmological associations and stories, songs and dances, kinships and all attributes of a rich and complex culture. How does one transfer culture? I can only think via exposure and participation. A relatively good sense of moral purpose and respectful integrity is a great place to start from. The art gallery is a space that allows for the connections between people, land, Country, language and culture to be shared and appreciated. It is just a marvellous opportunity to be able to display the Munupi artists' individual creative practices in a London gallery. One of the roles of the gallery is to reveal the unknown, to bring the unfamiliar into a new context where these can be appreciated and felt.

CR It seems to me that land, or rather Country, both in a literal and metaphysical sense, has a prevailing influence on Tiwi Art. Do you think this message can still prevail when juxtaposed with an inherently urbanised environment?

GA Urban environments are melting-pots of cultures. Great cities are created with layers upon layers of influence, knowledge, innovation upon innovation, traditions upon traditions. Urban environments allow for the dissemination of diverse points of views and a place where artworks from great cultures come to converge, taken out of their original contexts – lands, country, languages – to be shared, discovered by some – where the work can be appreciated aesthetically and regardless of birthplace. Artistic excellence has no borders. This exhibition in London represents a unique opportunity for the Tiwi artists to share their knowledge, particular points of view, another important part of the kaleidoscope of cultural diversities. All Munupi artists' exhibitions in Australia, or internationally, have this characteristic: artists with strong links to Country coming from their remote location to a large urban city to display their artworks. It is also in this context that Tiwi People demonstrate their resilience to great socio-economic difficulties and disadvantages, with a high degree of creativity prevailing in a fascinating culture that one may choose to visit or understand. Culture and art do not exist in a vacuum. These are opportunities where the most ancient continuous culture and its contemporary output can meet the modern Western world. The visual abstractions offered by the Aboriginal artists are as vivid as those of our Western contemporary artists. Witness: the numbers, most recently, of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and their artworks selected as winners of high calibre contemporary art awards such as the Wynne Prize for landscape (Art Gallery of New South Wales) and the numerous recent exhibitions of Australian Aboriginal artists in the most celebrated Western Art and cultural institutions, in Europe, Asia and America. The urbanised environments are really magnets for these inputs.

CR Many of the paintings in Yoi are made using natural ochres. How are these pigments collected?

GA All the Tiwi paintings from the Munupi artists are created with the traditional ochre colours; red, yellow and white. The ochres are collected on Country and applied to a gesso primed canvas. The red is actually yellow oxide which has been burned to create the red ochre colour. Ochres are natural oxides. The yellow is hydrated iron oxide (which in its natural form is yellow) found on Country. The red is dehydrated iron oxide, thus the use of fire and heat to transform this yellow ochre into the bright red ochre. These ochres are ground and mixed together with an acrylic binder for stability on the canvas. They are also mixed together to create a whole array of tones that each artist chooses to use during their creative process.

CR Tiwi artist Pedro Wonaeamirri writes that "... the old and the new coming together is our story, from Parlingarri to today, moving forward but always remembering." As demonstrated by the reinterpretation of customary symbolism, in what way do the works exhibited represent a confluence of tradition and change, whilst preserving the notion of continuity?

GA Painting, which was traditionally used for body painting, came to be transposed onto canvas. Tiwi artists melt the old with the new, just like any artist from anywhere. Tradition, culture and art are not sealed in a vacuum. Tiwi artists also continue to use their own individual viewpoints to reflect their identity in their own way, where the modern contemporary world and antique tradition meet. Tiwi artists are well reputed for their innovation and creativity in reinterpreting their unique culture: Cornelia Tipuamantumirri, Kitty Kantilla, Maria Josette Orsto, Natalie Puantulura, Pedro Wonaeamirri are a few of the most celebrated groundbreaking Tiwi artists who with imagination and skills, represent the core aspect of Tiwi Culture in stunning contemporary visual aesthetics. The other artists represented in this exhibition, also each in their own way, use aspects of their cultural traditions, which are still at the core of their life today, to reinvent and continue to push the boundaries from the old to the new and into the future. As John McDonald stated recently in his survey of the Ramsey Art Prize at the South Australian Art Gallery, " ... it was a pleasure to turn to Alison Puruntatameri’s painting, Winga (Tidal Movement/Waves), which represents something new in the familiar Tiwi style."

CR Wonaeamirri also speaks of the term Wurrungura, meaning "moving forward". JGM Gallery, of course, specialises in both British Contemporary and First Nations Australian Art, with the aim of altering pre-existing narratives within the Western canon. To what extent, if any, do you think exposing the contemporary art of Tiwi to the contemporary British art scene, plays a part in the concept of Wurrungura?

GA Tiwi have always encouraged innovative and individual expression. Each artist brings their own sensibility, their own style, to create the vivid artworks inspired by their Tiwi ancestral cosmology and culture. It is a movement, a continuum which keeps Tiwi culture strong and alive. Contemporary Munupi Art and its artists are on the move, creating work that reflects Tiwi Culture but also the specific facets of our humanity. The first Aboriginal artworks to enter an Australian art gallery (Art Gallery of New South Wales) were a commission of seventeen Tutini – a pioneering initiative – a 1958 landmark that continues to resonate today. Many artworks from the Munupi artists are now in public and private art collections in Australia and overseas. A few years ago, Helen and Brice Marden purchased an artwork from our exhibition in Athens. Munupi Art will represent its younger artist in a solo show at the Melbourne Art Fair in February. This exhibition at JGM is part of this continuum and movement: " Capacity for excellence, in art as in everything, is universal, it has neither county or homeland." (Stephane Martin, previously Director of the Musee Du Quai Branly).

CR What lasting message would you, as someone who has worked closely with the artists from Munupi Arts & Crafts Association, hope that a British audience attending this exhibition, who may or may not have been exposed to Tiwi culture, would take away from these artworks?

GA Art is art. It is an experience that transforms the audience. Art speaks directly to its audience and is a powerful form of communication and expression. Art is a tool of knowledge and transformation, and Non-Western Art should not be pigeonholed into a narrow definition. The separation between Western Art and Non-Western Art is just outdated. In 1984, the exhibition, Magiciens de la Terre at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, featured in equal numbers well-known Western contemporary living artists and Non-Western artists. It was a visionary and ground-breaking exhibition, followed in 2000 with a majestic exhibition at the Louvre, which saw a selection of masterpieces from the " margins" finally recognized for their powerful aesthetic values and " allowed" for the first time to enter one of the world's most reputed art institutions – a symbolic artistic consecration. Museums everywhere have awoken to the idea that contemporary artworks are contemporary regardless of their singularities. Tate Modern is also committed to presenting the works of Non-Western Art. Just let the Tiwi works speak to you. Art has no borders, except for the ones of our own minds. It is just a marvellous added bonus that the works from these Tiwi artists are imbued with a spirituality and cosmology unique to the region, that the viewer may choose to discover and understand, but is not necessary for appreciating the sensitive aesthetic experience and the inherent qualities of these Tiwi artworks.

Carol Puruntatameri, Yipali & Purrukupali I, 2023, ochre on canvas, 180cm x 120cm

Carol Puruntatameri, Yipali & Purrukupali II, 2023, ochre on canvas, 180cm x 120cm

Arthur John Cowell, Pupuni Jilamara 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Josephine Burak, Milimika I, 2023, ochre on canvas, 150cm x 80cm

Josephine Burak, Milimika II, 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Josephine Burak, Milimika III, 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Delores Tipuamantumirri, Winga (detail), 2021, natural ochre on Arches paper, 71cm x 51cm.

courtesy of Studio Adamson.

Christine Puruntatameri, Pwonga 2023, ochre on canvas, 180cm x 120cm

Christine Puruntatameri, 2023. Image courtesy of Guy and Gina Allain, and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.

Dorothy Noni Poantimului, Pupuni Jilamara, 2023, ochre on canvas, 100cm x 100cm

Simplicia Tipungwuti, Murtangkala, 2023, ochre on canvas, 180cm x 120cm

"museums everywhere have awoken to the idea that contemporary artworks are contemporary regardless of their singularities... art has no borders, except for the ones of our own minds. it is just a marvellous added bonus that the works from these tiwi artists are imbued with a spirituality and cosmology unique to the region..." - Guy Allain

Lucinda Puruntatameri, Pupuni Jilamara I, 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Lucinda Puruntatameri, Pupuni Jilamara II, 2023, ochre on canvas, 100cm x 100cm

Alison Puruntatameri, Winga I, 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Alison Puruntatameri, Winga II, 2020, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Tiwi Yoi (Dance Ceremony), 2023. Image courtesy of Ben Searcy and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.

Alison Puruntatameri, Winga III, 2020, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm

Alison Puruntatameri, Winga IV, 2021, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 180cm

Delores Tipuamantumirri, Banapa, 2021, ochre on canvas, 180cm x 120cm

Delores Tipuamantumirri, Winga, 2021, ochre on Arches paper, 71cm x 51cm

Christine Puruntatameri, Woven Mats, 2021, natural ochre on Arches paper, 71cm x 51cm

Christine Puruntatameri, Pupuni Jilamara 2021, natural ochre on Arches paper, 71cm x 51cm

Artwork Photography: Studio Adamson. © 2024 JGM Gallery. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-7385394-0-6.

JGM Gallery

24 Howie Street London SW11 4AY info@jgmgallery.com

Front cover: Josephine Burak, Milimika III (detail), 2023, ochre on canvas, 120cm x 80cm. Image courtesy of Studio Adamson.

Back cover: Delores Tipuamantumirri. Image courtesy of Guy and Gina Allain, and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association. Editorial design: Julius Killerby.

Photography: Julius Killerby, Ben Searcy, Guy and Gina Allain, and The Munupi Arts & Crafts Association.