Alice Guiness
Alice Guiness is one of ten children, born between 1950 and 1955 on Gurrabinya Country near Cherratta Station to her father, Guiness Gilby and mother, Nordie King. Her siblings include Nancy (dec.), Dennis, Barbara (dec.), Willy-Billy (dec.), Nicholas, Clifford, Kevin, Esther and Janice. Alice is a Yindjibarndi Elder now, as well as a mother and grandmother. Her Ngaarda name is Guruu.
In the Pilbara during the 1960s, many Aboriginal station workers were forced from their country by station owners who said they would not pay Aboriginal stockmen the same wages as non-Indigenous stockmen. Many of our Yindjibarndi families were forced to live in poverty on the Old Roebourne Native Reserve, but Alice’s father was determined to make life for him and his family different. Owning his own truck, he found work at Wittenoom, and then in Nullagine and Marble Bar. This meant that Alice and her siblings grew up in a mining town that offered more opportunities than those living at the Native Reserves. Another benefit was that they grew up close to their own country.
Alice’s Ngurra (Country) was her teacher, a playground for her and her siblings to explore. On their adventures, they were connected to the Old People, their wisdom and knowledge, embraced all its learnings, which made them strong and confident Yindjibarndi children. The family eventually settled in Roebourne after leaving Wittenoom in the early 1980s. In 2003, Alice began painting at the Warawarnigu Healing Art Centre in Roebourne. Warawarni-gu was set up as a place where community members could partake in arts activities and gatherings, escape community pressures and other day-to-day challenges. Members with disabilities and health issues found it personally rewarding to have a place that valued their passion to be accepted and creative, knowing of their personal disadvantages. When Warawarnigu closed its doors due to the lack of funding, Alice joined the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi people’s Roebourne Art Group in 2009. She continued painting with the Art Group until 2016, a turning point in her life when her artwork became widely known for two key themes: early paintings of the Bajila seed and her concentric rainbow-coloured Burndud Dance Circles, which became her trademark style.
Burndud Ground has been commissioned by Boorloo Contemporary as part of the 2025 Perth Festival. The exhibition is a celebration of Alice’s love of culture and painting. When Alice sits down to paint her special Burndud paintings, she smooths the canvas before her. She takes her brush, considers the colours in their pots, reaches out, dips the brush into a colour and quietly paints a circle using her left hand, which is called Jambularri in the Yindjibarndi language. One circle and then another. Her focus calm, one circle and another. She will not be interrupted.
The Burndud Ground that Alice paints has multiple meanings for Yindjibarndi people. The Burndud is a significant site on Yindjibarndi Ngurra, connected to the Ngurra Nyujuggamu – the time when the world was soft. It is also the sacred law that Yindjibarndi people have passed down through generations for more than 60,000 years. Alice continues to live by this meaning and purpose.
All across our Yindjibarndi Ngurra, there are places marked by songs and stories made by the Marrga. The Marrga are our Creation spirits, and these songs are given to them by Mingkala, our Sky God. The Marrga sang the sacred law that we call the Burndud. Every summer, in the Birdirra Law Ceremonies, our young men are chosen by their parents to take the sacred journey from boyhood to manhood. At this time, they will be given the knowledge and responsibilities to carry forward the traditions of songs and wisdom, to see beyond what was once withheld to those without passage. Alice places a high value on all the things equal by the way it makes her feel, and this can be seen throughout her work.
Alice’s circle paintings of the Burndud are her most joyful and serve as a reminder of her times at the Law Camp during the Birdarra ceremonies. At the Law Camp, we welcome the new life of our young men by dancing halfway through the night. It is this deep connection Alice remembers when she paints, the happiness of family and community coming together. A belonging of love, and her personal enjoyment when she dances. Alice’s storytelling through her paintings is a contemporary form of oral history, a personal story told using canvas and colours, memories of the past, and a projection of the future.
The documentation of the Yindjibarndi cultural history started in the year 2000 with the establishment of Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation by me and my husband, Michael Woodley. In the Yindjibarndi language, Juluwarlu means ‘everybody’, and we exist to carry out one core function: to collect, sustain and promote the Yindjibarndi culture and our Ngurra. This includes protecting our environment, rivers and waters, language, genealogy, mythology, social history, and life story. We do this to sustain identity to our Ngurra, instil self-esteem, reestablish self-respect, and restore values that are essential to the lives, well-being and future of all Yindjibarndi people.
Alice first started painting with Juluwarlu in 2019 but first came to the organisation not as a painter, but as a participant and assistant to the old ladies in recording their stories and cultural history. When we established our art centre, Alice was always the first to arrive and the last to leave. Over time, we noticed that she had a natural ability as an artist, which led to her investing more of her time and dedication to her newfound love of art. Devoting her time to painting quickly developed into a special relationship she not only had with her newfound profession but with the staff that worked with her to polish her craft and to push her outside of her normal comfort zone into boundaries unknown. Her work at the art centre assisted her in developing her skills, shaping her curiosity and allowing her to venture far and wide while exploring her creativity. This was something we were happy to invest in and support as well - new art materials, special staff to work with her and more recently carers.
Juluwarlu is proud to support Alice as an artist with a disability. We have always been aware of her situation; it is something we have known and understood when working with Alice, though her disability has gone undiagnosed her whole life. We believe she is a very intelligent individual, she is fully aware of her surroundings, her day-to-day routine, and preparation in doing her art. At times, we work with Alice’s family to help her manage her day-to-day and other life requirements, balancing all necessities.
This support that Juluwarlu provides to Alice and many other artists in the community is common among all Aboriginal Art Centres. It is a pivotal necessity that gives artists comfort and support, but it’s also vital that we provide a safe space for all our members. Alongside artistic work, Juluwarlu is a space to seek community support, enjoyment and relaxation.
This publication supports the exhibition Alice Guiness: Burndud Ground 7 February – 17 April 2025 Text copyright ©Lorraine Coppin, 2024.
Above: Alice Guiness in the studio. Image courtesy of Perth Festival. Photo by Marnie Richardson. Front: Alice Guiness, Burndud, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 120 cm. Courtesy of Juluwarlu Art Group. Photo by Sharon Baker.
JOHN CURTIN GALLERY
Alice Guiness, Burndud, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 101 x 76 cm. Courtesy of Juluwarlu Art Group.
Photo by Sharon Baker.
Lorraine Coppin CEO, Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation