Martu Artist

© Tobias Titz

Martu Artist

© Tobias Titz

Martu Artists out country.

© Martumili Artists

Martu Artists out country.

© Martumili Artists

Martu Artists out country.

© Martumili Artists

'Catch it'

Kumpaya Girgirba and Ngamaru Bidu -© Gabrielle Sullivan

‘Western Desert’

© Tim Acker

‘Salt Lake’

© Tim Acker

‘Western Desert’

© Tim Acker

'Spinifex'

© Tim Acker

Martumili Artists Art Centre Area

The Phone Booth Project, 2012.

Lily Hibberd and Curtis Taylor. Commissioned for "We Don't Need a Map", Fremantle Arts Centre, Western Australia. Still from split-screen digital video.

TobiasTitz & Nancy Chapman

2009 - Etching on large format Polaroid 665 negative

TobiasTitz & Muuki Taylor

2009 - Etching on large format Polaroid 665 negative

TobiasTitz & Wokka Taylor

2009 - Etching on large format Polaroid 665 negative

Jakayu Biljabu - ‘Warla’

2011 / Acrylic on linen / 91 x 122 cm. This painting depicts a warla (lake) near Wantili a claypan near the Canning Stock Route. There is plenty of water out this way in the wet time.

Jakayu Biljabu - ‘Jirril Jirril’

This painter primarily paints her country around the Canning Stock Route. In the pujiman (Bush) days the artist travelled with her family through the land collecting wiylki (seeds) just as the Minyi Puru (Seven Sisters) did in the Jukurrpa (Dreamtime). Now they collect grass for baskets as well. Puntayarra and Minarri are two of the names for grasses that the artists use to make baskets.

Jakayu Biljabu - ‘Wikiri’

2012 / Acrylic on linen 91 x 46 cm. This is Wikiri, which is located near the Canning Stock Route. The artist spent a lot of time in this area when she was growing up, in pujiman (bush) days, and says "This place has too much tali (sandhills).There is a big soak there with a claypan. There is fresh water in the soak all year round and all the bushes grow right around the soak so you have to dig up the bushes to get out the water. There are rockholes nearby called Larlta and Kuyu.”

Bugai Whyoulter - ‘Kunawarritji’

2012 / Acrylic on linen / 76 x 122 cm. This painting depicts country around the artist's home of Kunawarritji. Kunawarritji is an important site in the Great Sandy Desert where multiple stories and histories intersect. Originally, an important spring water, at the turn of the 20th century Kunawarritji became a well (Well 33) along the Canning Stock Route.

Bugai Whyoulter - ‘ Kunawarritji’

2011 / Acrylic on linen 150 x 150 cm. This painting depicts country around the artist's home of Kunawarritji an important site in the Great Sandy Desert where multiple stories and histories intersect. Originally, an important spring water, at the turn of the 20th century Kunawarritji became a well (Well 33) along the Canning Stock Route. Each year throughout the 1930-50s, the well became a site of contact between the drovers, their cattle, and desert families such as Bugai’s.

Mulyatingki Marney - ‘Punmu Warla'

2013 / Acrylic on linen 76 x 122 cm. This painting depicts the warla (salt lake) at Punmu. The warla is surrounded by numerous fresh water soaks and tali (sandhills). Punmu Aboriginal Community is located on the edge of this important site.

Bugai Whyoulter - ‘Wantili Claypan'

2012 -Acrylic on linen 76 x 122 cm. Wantili is also known as Well 24 on the Canning Stock Route. The area is dominated by claypans surrounded by tali (sandhills). This is not far from the artist's home country. She returned there as a young woman, driving cattle along the Canning Stock Route.

Bugai Whyoulter - ‘Untitled’

2013 / Acrylic on linen 91 x 122 cm. This painting depicts an area in the artist’s country where she lived and travelled extensively throughout the pujiman (bush) days with her family. She travelled from what is now Balfour Downs station where she was born, all around the Parnngurr area and up and down the Canning Stock Route as far as Kunawarritji. Kunawarritji is also known as well 33 and is now her Ngurra (home).

Kumpaya Girgirba - ‘Kun Kun’

2013 / Acrylic on linen 121 x 152 cm. Kumpaya says "My ngurra (home)!" This painting depicts Kun Kun, located in the Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia. Kun Kun is in the artist’s husband's country east of Kunawarritji, Well 33, on the Canning Stock Route. Kun Kun is an important meeting place, and is the place for kangaroo dreaming. There is a large soak to access underground water here. The artist walked all around this country as a girl.

Nyanjilpayi Chapman -‘Spring Waters'

2012 / Acrylic on linen 300 x 125 cm. This painting portrays all different yintas (spring waters) from the artist’s country around Punmu and Kunawarritji I in the Western Deserts of Western Australia. From left to right the names are Kurnara, Kurnalimpi, Jantinti, Jurtalpa, Kartunka, Jutupa and Taarlpa. The vertical lines represent all of the country in-between including tali (sandhills), warlas (lakes), lyinji (clay pans) and yapu (hills).

Wokka Taylor - ‘Martakurlu’

2014 / Acrylic on linen 91 x 121cm. This painting depicts Martakurlu which is north of the community of Punmu. There are two rock holes there and one of them is quite big. This is the artist’s country where he lived and travelled during the bush days.

Wokka Taylor - ‘Untitled’

2014 / Acrylic on linen 91 x 121 cm. This painting portrays Wokka Taylor’s country where his family lived traditionally during the pujiman (bush) days. Wokka was born in the far Kayli (north) of the Martu homelands near the Percival Lakes area. The place where he was born is called Kulyakartu. Kulyakartu is a very important area to the artist and family. They would travel there during the pujiman (bush) days in the wet season.

Wokka Taylor - ‘Kulyakartu’

2012 / Acrylic on linen 76 x 122 cm. This painting depicts Kulyakartu, an area in the far north of the Martu homelands, near the Percival Lakes in the northern Great Sandy Desert. The artist has extensive knowledge of the country in this region. He grew up living traditionally during the pujiman (bush) days with his family.

Ngamaru Bidu - ‘Untitled’

2014 / Acrylic on linen 76 x 122 cm. This painting portrays part of the artist’s country where Ngamaru Bidu and her family traditionally lived during the pujiman (bush) days. They lived nomadically moving from water source to water source hunting and gathering bush tucker as they went. Primarily the artist’s family would travel up and down the Canning Stock Route and around the Parnngurr area traversing long distances.

Nyarrie Morgan - ‘Pila’

2013 / Acrylic on linen 91 x 122 cm. This painting portrays tali (sand hills) and the pila (flat country in between) in the artists ngurra (home) country kakarra (east) of the Community of Parnngurr. He says “ There is a big Jurnu (rock hole) out that was with a kanaji (type of snake) big one lying down in there”. The artist has extensive knowledge of all of this country as he travelled all around here when he was a young man during the pujiman.