Western Desert Mob 2015

WESTERN DESERT MOB TJARLIRLI AND WARAKURNA ARTISTS USA 2015

Cover: Nyararpayi Giles, Tjarliri Catalog #14-320 This page: Photo by

Western Desert Mob: Paintings from Tjarlirli & Warakurna Ngurrangka-latju nyinarra tjamuku kaparliku ngurrangka. Tjukurrpa ngaparrku-ngaparrku nintira nyuntulu-yan kulira nintirrinytjaku.

We are living in our grandfather’s and grandmother’s country. We are sharing our stories with you so that you can learn about them.

(Eunice Porter, Warakurna Artists Chairperson, 2012) Western Desert Mob is an alliance of Aboriginal art centers from the Ngaanyatjarra Lands in Western Australia. Formed in 2007, Western Desert Mob (WDM) links six leading Aboriginal owned and governed art centers, reflecting the area’s close cultural, family and creative connections. Two of these art centers are featured in this show, Tjarlirli Art Center and Warakurna Artists.

Tjarlirli Art Center represents the artists of Tjukurla in the Ngannyatjarra lands of Western Australia.

The artwork has strong links with the Papunya Tula movement as families left Kintore and Kiwirrkurra to return to their homelands in the mid 1980s. Established in 2006 Tjarlirli Art has been recognized as a source of culturally significant work produced by elders such as Nyarapayi Giles, Katjarra Butler and Esther Giles.

As the only business venture in Tjukurla, Tjarlirli Art is providing much needed income and employment in this remote town of approximately 40 people. Tjarlirli Art’s core business is the preservation, maintenance and promotion of the art work of the Ngaanyatjarra people by nurturing the development of traditional and contemporary artistic practice, exploring new mediums and innovative opportunities for creative expression.

Warakurna Artists opened their Art Center in March of 2005. Warakurna is a remote community situated on the Great Central Road in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia, approximately 330km from Uluru near the border with the Northern Territory. The township of approximately 180 people is nestled amongst the spectacular Rawlinson Ranges in the Gibson Desert, close to the Giles Meteorological Weather Station.

Warakurna Art Center is an energetic, creative and happy place, where men and women, young and old, paint and share Tjukurrpa (traditional law and culture) and contemporary stories. Passing on these important stories to young people is a critical means of keeping culture vital and strong. The Art Center plays an important role in the community, providing cultural and social benefits in addition to economic returns.

Harvey Art Projects USA is proud to bring the spirit of the Western Desert to the USA through this stunning exhibition of twenty paintings. We gratefully acknowledge the Tjarlirli and Warakurna artists of the Western Desert Mob in this exclusive USA exhibition.

Background image: KATJARRA BUTLER, Untitled acrylic on canvas, , Tjarlirli Catalog #14-202

ESTHER GILES Purrungu Python Story (detail) acrylic on canvas 48” x 36” (122 x 91 cm) Tjarlirli Catalog #14-486

ESTHER GILES Kuruyurltu-Esther (detail) acrylic on canvas 58” x 70” (148 x 179 cm) Tjarlirli Catalog #14-536

NYARAPAYI GILES Yirajarra (detail) acrylic on canvas 72” x 60” (183 x 152 cm) Tjarlirli Catalog #14-69

NEIL MAXWELL Good Colour (detail) acrylic on linen 50” x 30” (137 x 75 cm) Tjarlirli Catalog #14-406

RACHEL YUKULTJA JENNINGS Mantamaru (detail) acrylic on canvas 16” x 36” (30 x 76 cm) Warakurna Catalog #361-14

MYRA YURTIWA COOK Lirrun (detail) acrylic on canvas 36” x 36” (91 x 91 cm) Warakurna Catalog #243-14

CAROL MAAYATJA GOLDING Walu (detail) acrylic on canvas 28” x 40” (76 x 101 cm) Warakurna Catalog #501-14

RACHEL YUKULTJA JENNINGS Mantamaru (detail) acrylic on canvas 28” x 40” (76 x 101 cm) Warakurna Catalog #412-14

Bob Gibson Carol Maanyatja Golding Esther Giles Katjarra Butler Manupa Butler Myra Yurtiwa Cook Neil Maxwell Nyarapayi Giles Ngipi Ward Rachel Yukultja Jennings

NGIPI WARD Mina Mina (detail) acrylic on canvas 40� x 20� (101.6 x 50.8 cm) Warakurna Catalog #349-14

On view 7 February - 30 March 2015 Sun Valley, USA 391 First Avenue North Ketchum, ID 83340 USA info@harveyartprojects.com | Phone (208) 309-8676 All image’s courtesy of Tjarlirli & Warakurna Copyright 2015 Harvey Art Projects USA, Tjarlirli Artists & Warakurna Artists

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