ANTARA New Generations Mimili Maku Arts
Carers
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ANTARA New Generations Mimili Maku Arts Carers
Front: Josina Nyarpingku Pumani, Ngura Walytja, Antara, 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 122 cm (detail) Left: Josina Nyarpingku Pumani Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
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EXHIBITINGARTISTS
Anita Pumani Josina NyarpingkuPumani Pauline Minmila Wangin TERESA PUMANIMULA PIMANGKA
Left clockwise from top: Hills at Antara; Anita Pumani painting at Mimili (Photo: Mimili Maku Arts); Teresa Pumani (Photo: Jackson Lee); Waterhole at Antara; Pauline Minmila Wangin (Photo Meg Hansen Photography)
introduction
Antara (Sandy Bore) is an 846,000 hectare Indigenous Protected Area in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia about 1040 kilometres northwest of Adelaide. The closest community to Antara is Mimili, some 28k away – home to 300 Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people who have been living in the area for millennia in harmony with nature and acting as custodians of the land and the Tjukurpa (creation stories and law). Mimili was formerly known as Everard Park - a cattle station returned to Aboriginal ownership through the 1981 APY Lands Act. Mimili Community was incorporated as an Aboriginal Community in 1975. Mimili Maku Arts, established around 2004 is its art studio, owned and governed by a board of Anangu directors. The art centre supports artists across different disciplines such as painting, photography and publishing. THE COUNTRY OF ANTARA Bounded by the Everard Ranges to the north and sand plain country to the south, Antara is the traditional country of many of Mimili’s community members who make frequent trips to its beautiful environs to care for its land, cultural sites and water sources, to hunt and to gather bush flora for medicine and food. Antara is home to a number of significant and threatened species including itjaritjari, a marsupial mole and a number of rare plants – including the Everard garland lily which was only discovered by European scientists in 2000. Several important Tjukurpa [ Dreaming] lines pass through Antara. These include those for ngintaka or perentie (Australia’s largest goanna), tjala or honey ants and maku (witchetty grub). Along these lines the traditional owners (Nguraritja) also see evidence of the events in which the ancestors were involved and which laid down traditional law.
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In 2017 leading Mimili artist Betty Pumani put Antara firmly on the artistic map when she won the prestigious Wynne Prize for Landscape at the Art Gallery of NSW with a painting of Antara. As with many artists, Pumani is also a member of the Indigenous Rangers Program working on land management and care. The topography of Antara includes deep, smooth sided waterholes, domed ranges, and a host of wildflowers and has long been a wellspring for art for its traditional owners. As well as Pumani and her immediate family including her mother Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani and sister Kunmanara (Ngupulya) Pumani, a whole school of painters have painted Antara. Antara school artists include Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin, Puna Yanima, Nara Tjami, Kunmanara (Kathleen) Tjapalyi, Pauline Minmila Wangin and rising star third generation artists Anita Pumani and Josina Nyarpingku Pumani. Many paintings of Antara – especially those by the Pumani family and Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin – have a distinctively multi-layered resonance. Revealed through a veils of overlayed dots, are the bones of the land, its underground watercourses, waterholes, creation sites and ancestral tracks. It is very clear in the paintings in this exhibition by the inheritors of Antara, that these rising star artists love and honour both their forebears and their land whose intricacies, grandeur and histories they portray in distinctly individual interpretations and a very deep connectedness.
Susan McCulloch April 2020
With thanks to Mimili Maku Arts for the supply of biographical material and photographs.
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Anita Pumani 1. Anita Pumani, Antara – Maku Dreaming 2019 acrylic on linen, 122 x 82cm MM4566 | $1500
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Anita Pumani is an emerging highly talented artist from Mimili in the APY Lands. Her late grandmother (her father’s mother) Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani was one of the most revered of Mimili’s founding artists. Anita was born in 1982 at Indulkana near Mimili where she grew up, later attending school in Adelaide. She is the oldest daughter of Teresa Mula and Ken Pumani, both senior cultural leaders in Mimili. Anita is one of four sisters, and now has three daughters of her own. Growing up in such a strong line of women, Anita proudly shares women’s stories in her paintings. She often references Antara, the important women’s site close to Mimili community, and speaks about the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Anita has also collaborated with her mother and her sisters on several works of the Seven Sisters story, which is deeply engrained in her family line. She has been exhibiting in leading Aboriginal art galleries in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Mornington Peninsula since 2017. 10
Her work is largely concerned with representing the country and tjukurpa (dreaming stories and lore) of Antara – a large, beautiful Indigenous Protected Area, close to Mimili community. Her work features the story of two ancestral women performing inma (ceremony) at a hill at Antara. Singing, they hit a rock with digging sticks causing many maku (witchetty grubs) to come up from underground. Today, when women from Mimili go out to Antara and sing inma, they collect numerous maku and other bush tucker. Anita says, “My aunty Milatjari Pumani taught me how to respect Maku Tjurkurpa for Mimili community. I also teach my daughters what Maku Tjurkurpa means. I am proud to be custodian of that country.” Anita’s fluid and detailed paintings show her to be a young artist of considerable talent whose work is becoming increasingly sought after.
Anita Pumani 2. Anita Pumani, Antara – Maku Tjukurpa 2019, acrylic on linen, 101 x 152cm MM4565 | $1900
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Anita Pumani is an emerging highly talented artist from Mimili in the APY Lands. Her late grandmother (her father’s mother) Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani was one of the most revered of Mimili’s founding artists. Anita was born in 1982 at Indulkana near Mimili where she grew up, later attending school in Adelaide. She is the oldest daughter of Teresa Mula and Ken Pumani, both senior cultural leaders in Mimili. Anita is one of four sisters, and now has three daughters of her own. Growing up in such a strong line of women, Anita proudly shares women’s stories in her paintings. She often references Antara, the important women’s site close to Mimili community, and speaks about the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Anita has also collaborated with her mother and her sisters on several works of the Seven Sisters story, which is deeply engrained in her family line. She has been exhibiting in leading Aboriginal art galleries in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Mornington Peninsula since 2017. 12
Her work is largely concerned with representing the country and tjukurpa (dreaming stories and lore) of Antara – a large, beautiful Indigenous Protected Area, close to Mimili community. Her work features the story of two ancestral women performing inma (ceremony) at a hill at Antara. Singing, they hit a rock with digging sticks causing many maku (witchetty grubs) to come up from underground. Today, when women from Mimili go out to Antara and sing inma, they collect numerous maku and other bush tucker. Anita says, “My aunty Milatjari Pumani taught me how to respect Maku Tjurkurpa for Mimili community. I also teach my daughters what Maku Tjurkurpa means. I am proud to be custodian of that country.” Anita’s fluid and detailed paintings show her to be a young artist of considerable talent whose work is becoming increasingly sought after.
Anita Pumani 3. Anita Pumani, Antara – Maku Tjukurpa 2019, acrylic on linen, 101 x 101cm MM4567 | $1500
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Anita Pumani is an emerging highly talented artist from Mimili in the APY Lands. Her late grandmother (her father’s mother) Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani was one of the most revered of Mimili’s founding artists. Anita was born in 1982 at Indulkana near Mimili where she grew up, later attending school in Adelaide. She is the oldest daughter of Teresa Mula and Ken Pumani, both senior cultural leaders in Mimili. Anita is one of four sisters, and now has three daughters of her own. Growing up in such a strong line of women, Anita proudly shares women’s stories in her paintings. She often references Antara, the important women’s site close to Mimili community, and speaks about the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Anita has also collaborated with her mother and her sisters on several works of the Seven Sisters story, which is deeply engrained in her family line. She has been exhibiting in leading Aboriginal art galleries in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Mornington Peninsula since 2017. 14
Her work is largely concerned with representing the country and tjukurpa (dreaming stories and lore) of Antara – a large, beautiful Indigenous Protected Area, close to Mimili community. Her work features the story of two ancestral women performing inma (ceremony) at a hill at Antara. Singing, they hit a rock with digging sticks causing many maku (witchetty grubs) to come up from underground. Today, when women from Mimili go out to Antara and sing inma, they collect numerous maku and other bush tucker. Anita says, “My aunty Milatjari Pumani taught me how to respect Maku Tjurkurpa for Mimili community. I also teach my daughters what Maku Tjurkurpa means. I am proud to be custodian of that country.” Anita’s fluid and detailed paintings show her to be a young artist of considerable talent whose work is becoming increasingly sought after.
Anita Pumani 4. Anita Pumani, Antara – Maku Dreaming 2020, acrylic on linen, 101 x 101cm MM44836 | $1800
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Anita Pumani is an emerging highly talented artist from Mimili in the APY Lands. Her late grandmother (her father’s mother) Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani was one of the most revered of Mimili’s founding artists. Anita was born in 1982 at Indulkana near Mimili where she grew up, later attending school in Adelaide. She is the oldest daughter of Teresa Mula and Ken Pumani, both senior cultural leaders in Mimili. Anita is one of four sisters, and now has three daughters of her own. Growing up in such a strong line of women, Anita proudly shares women’s stories in her paintings. She often references Antara, the important women’s site close to Mimili community, and speaks about the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Anita has also collaborated with her mother and her sisters on several works of the Seven Sisters story, which is deeply engrained in her family line. She has been exhibiting in leading Aboriginal art galleries in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Mornington Peninsula since 2017. 16
Her work is largely concerned with representing the country and tjukurpa (dreaming stories and lore) of Antara – a large, beautiful Indigenous Protected Area, close to Mimili community. Her work features the story of two ancestral women performing inma (ceremony) at a hill at Antara. Singing, they hit a rock with digging sticks causing many maku (witchetty grubs) to come up from underground. Today, when women from Mimili go out to Antara and sing inma, they collect numerous maku and other bush tucker. Anita says, “My aunty Milatjari Pumani taught me how to respect Maku Tjurkurpa for Mimili community. I also teach my daughters what Maku Tjurkurpa means. I am proud to be custodian of that country.” Anita’s fluid and detailed paintings show her to be a young artist of considerable talent whose work is becoming increasingly sought after.
Anita Pumani 5. Anita Pumani, Antara – Maku Dreaming 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 82cm MM4837 | $1800
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Anita Pumani is an emerging highly talented artist from Mimili in the APY Lands. Her late grandmother (her father’s mother) Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani was one of the most revered of Mimili’s founding artists. Anita was born in 1982 at Indulkana near Mimili where she grew up, later attending school in Adelaide. She is the oldest daughter of Teresa Mula and Ken Pumani, both senior cultural leaders in Mimili. Anita is one of four sisters, and now has three daughters of her own. Growing up in such a strong line of women, Anita proudly shares women’s stories in her paintings. She often references Antara, the important women’s site close to Mimili community, and speaks about the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Anita has also collaborated with her mother and her sisters on several works of the Seven Sisters story, which is deeply engrained in her family line. She has been exhibiting in leading Aboriginal art galleries in Darwin, Alice Springs and the Mornington Peninsula since 2017. 18
Her work is largely concerned with representing the country and tjukurpa (dreaming stories and lore) of Antara – a large, beautiful Indigenous Protected Area, close to Mimili community. Her work features the story of two ancestral women performing inma (ceremony) at a hill at Antara. Singing, they hit a rock with digging sticks causing many maku (witchetty grubs) to come up from underground. Today, when women from Mimili go out to Antara and sing inma, they collect numerous maku and other bush tucker. Anita says, “My aunty Milatjari Pumani taught me how to respect Maku Tjurkurpa for Mimili community. I also teach my daughters what Maku Tjurkurpa means. I am proud to be custodian of that country.” Anita’s fluid and detailed paintings show her to be a young artist of considerable talent whose work is becoming increasingly sought after.
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani 6. Josina Nyarpingku Pumani, Ngura Walytja, Antara 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 122cm MM4833 | $2,900
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani is a young Pitjantjatjara woman born in Mimili in 1984. Her mother, Kunmanara (Ngupulya) Pumani and her grandmother Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani were two of the founders and most famous painters of Mimili Maku Arts. Both women taught Josina much about cultural leadership, as well as the strong connection with their country of Antara (Maku or witchetty grub Tjukurpa). Josina’s father is Shannon Kantji, a senior Yankunytjatjara leader. Josina began painting in 2009, and soon after became an arts worker at Mimili Maku Arts. She supported the senior artists during this time, learning from her elders whilst developing skills in canvas preparation. In 2015 Josina moved to Adelaide to further her education. Since her mother’s passing in 2019 she has moved back to Mimili to build on the cultural leadership displayed by her mother, supporting her local community and reconnecting with her art practice. Josina’s paintings reflect the painting style she learnt from generations of women in her family. Today she is one of Mimili Maku’s brightest rising stars. 20
This painting is about Josina’s home, family and culture – the country of Antara. Antara country belonged to Josina’s grandmother, Milatjari. All the women in Josina’s family paint Antara, holding its stories strong – particularly the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa, which is a significant songline of the area. She says: “The women from Mimili would go to the waterhole north of Mimili. They would clean it out, then wait for the rain to come. When the waterhole was full of water they would tap on the water’s surface and sing inma for Maku tjuta (enough Maku for everyone). The rock holes, hills and country are depicted in this painting.” In early 2020, Josina painted a suite of works, of which this is one, in strong memory of, and tribute to, her late mother. Beautifully resolved and with lyrical colours, these works are reminiscent of her mother’s signature style in which veiled layers of fine dots overlay iconographic elements beneath. Like the mirrored surface of the waterholes of Antara itself Josina’s jewel-like canvases offer the opportunity to delve beneath the surface. With a quantum leap in surety, these recent works reveal her to be an artist of rare talent.
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani 7. Josina Nyarpingku Pumani, Ngura Walytja, Antara 2020, acrylic on linen, 101 x 101cm MM4834 | $2,200
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani is a young Pitjantjatjara woman born in Mimili in 1984. Her mother, Kunmanara (Ngupulya) Pumani and her grandmother Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani were two of the founders and most famous painters of Mimili Maku Arts. Both women taught Josina much about cultural leadership, as well as the strong connection with their country of Antara (Maku or witchetty grub Tjukurpa). Josina’s father is Shannon Kantji, a senior Yankunytjatjara leader. Josina began painting in 2009, and soon after became an arts worker at Mimili Maku Arts. She supported the senior artists during this time, learning from her elders whilst developing skills in canvas preparation. In 2015 Josina moved to Adelaide to further her education. Since her mother’s passing in 2019 she has moved back to Mimili to build on the cultural leadership displayed by her mother, supporting her local community and reconnecting with her art practice. Josina’s paintings reflect the painting style she learnt from generations of women in her family. Today she is one of Mimili Maku’s brightest rising stars. 22
This painting is about Josina’s home, family and culture – the country of Antara. Antara country belonged to Josina’s grandmother, Milatjari. All the women in Josina’s family paint Antara, holding its stories strong – particularly the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa, which is a significant songline of the area. She says: “The women from Mimili would go to the waterhole north of Mimili. They would clean it out, then wait for the rain to come. When the waterhole was full of water they would tap on the water’s surface and sing inma for Maku tjuta (enough Maku for everyone). The rock holes, hills and country are depicted in this painting.” In early 2020, Josina painted a suite of works, of which this is one, in strong memory of, and tribute to, her late mother. Beautifully resolved and with lyrical colours, these works are reminiscent of her mother’s signature style in which veiled layers of fine dots overlay iconographic elements beneath. Like the mirrored surface of the waterholes of Antara itself Josina’s jewel-like canvases offer the opportunity to delve beneath the surface. With a quantum leap in surety, these recent works reveal her to be an artist of rare talent.
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani 8. Josina Nyarpingku Pumani, Ngura Walytja, Antara 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 122cm MM4835 | $2,900
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Josina Nyarpingku Pumani is a young Pitjantjatjara woman born in Mimili in 1984. Her mother, Kunmanara (Ngupulya) Pumani and her grandmother Kunmanara (Milatjari) Pumani were two of the founders and most famous painters of Mimili Maku Arts. Both women taught Josina much about cultural leadership, as well as the strong connection with their country of Antara (Maku or witchetty grub Tjukurpa). Josina’s father is Shannon Kantji, a senior Yankunytjatjara leader. Josina began painting in 2009, and soon after became an arts worker at Mimili Maku Arts. She supported the senior artists during this time, learning from her elders whilst developing skills in canvas preparation. In 2015 Josina moved to Adelaide to further her education. Since her mother’s passing in 2019 she has moved back to Mimili to build on the cultural leadership displayed by her mother, supporting her local community and reconnecting with her art practice. Josina’s paintings reflect the painting style she learnt from generations of women in her family. Today she is one of Mimili Maku’s brightest rising stars. 24
This painting is about Josina’s home, family and culture – the country of Antara. Antara country belonged to Josina’s grandmother, Milatjari. All the women in Josina’s family paint Antara, holding its stories strong – particularly the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa, which is a significant songline of the area. She says: “The women from Mimili would go to the waterhole north of Mimili. They would clean it out, then wait for the rain to come. When the waterhole was full of water they would tap on the water’s surface and sing inma for Maku tjuta (enough Maku for everyone). The rock holes, hills and country are depicted in this painting.” In early 2020, Josina painted a suite of works, of which this is one, in strong memory of, and tribute to, her late mother. Beautifully resolved and with lyrical colours, these works are reminiscent of her mother’s signature style in which veiled layers of fine dots overlay iconographic elements beneath. Like the mirrored surface of the waterholes of Antara itself Josina’s jewel-like canvases offer the opportunity to delve beneath the surface. With a quantum leap in surety, these recent works reveal her to be an artist of rare talent.
Pauline Minmila Wangin 9. Pauline Minmila Wangin, Kapi Tjukula (Water Hole) 2018, acrylic on linen, 122 x 122cm MM3535 | $2,500
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Pauline Minmila Wangin was born in 1970 at Indulkana, near Mimili in the APY Lands of South Australia. With a passion for learning and education, Pauline became a teacher at the Mimili school after graduation. She and her husband Robert Edwards have four children. Pauline started as an art centre worker at Mimili Maku Arts when it was first founded and later started focusing on her own painting practice. Her paintings resonate with a deep appreciation for the landscape and the stories that have created it. Pauline often goes on bush-trips to Victory Well, adjacent to Antara and which lies between her birthplace of Indulkana and her home of Mimili. Her work, which has been included in group exhibitions in leading galleries around Australia, largely focuses on the many rockholes of her country and the important work Indigenous people do in their care and maintenance.
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Pauline Minmila Wangin 10. Pauline Minmila Wangin, Kapi Tjukula (Water Hole) 2019, acrylic on linen, 152 x 122cm MM4658 | $3200
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Pauline Minmila Wangin was born in 1970 at Indulkana, near Mimili in the APY Lands of South Australia. With a passion for learning and education, Pauline became a teacher at the Mimili school after graduation. She and her husband Robert Edwards have four children. Pauline started as an art centre worker at Mimili Maku Arts when it was first founded and later started focusing on her own painting practice. Her paintings resonate with a deep appreciation for the landscape and the stories that have created it. Pauline often goes on bush-trips to Victory Well, adjacent to Antara and which lies between her birthplace of Indulkana and her home of Mimili. Her work, which has been included in group exhibitions in leading galleries around Australia, largely focuses on the many rockholes of her country and the important work Indigenous people do in their care and maintenance.
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Pauline Minmila Wangin 11. Pauline Minmila Wangin, Kapi Tjukula (Water Hole) 2020, acrylic on linen, 122 x 122cm MM4830 | $2800
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Pauline Minmila Wangin was born in 1970 at Indulkana, near Mimili in the APY Lands of South Australia. With a passion for learning and education, Pauline became a teacher at the Mimili school after graduation. She and her husband Robert Edwards have four children. Pauline started as an art centre worker at Mimili Maku Arts when it was first founded and later started focusing on her own painting practice. Her paintings resonate with a deep appreciation for the landscape and the stories that have created it. Pauline often goes on bush-trips to Victory Well, adjacent to Antara and which lies between her birthplace of Indulkana and her home of Mimili. Her work, which has been included in group exhibitions in leading galleries around Australia, largely focuses on the many rockholes of her country and the important work Indigenous people do in their care and maintenance.
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Pauline Minmila Wangin 12. Pauline Minmila Wangin, Kapi Tjukula (Water Hole) 2020 acrylic on linen, 122 x 122cm MM4831 | $2800
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Pauline Minmila Wangin was born in 1970 at Indulkana, near Mimili in the APY Lands of South Australia. With a passion for learning and education, Pauline became a teacher at the Mimili. school after graduation. She and her husband Robert Edwards have four children. Pauline started as an art centre worker at Mimili Maku Arts when it was first founded and later started focusing on her own painting practice. Her paintings resonate with a deep appreciation for the landscape and the stories that have created it. Pauline often goes on bush-trips to Victory Well, adjacent to Antara and which lies between her birthplace of Indulkana and her home of Mimili. Her work, which has been included in group exhibitions in leading galleries around Australia, largely focuses on the many rockholes of her country and the important work Indigenous people do in their care and maintenance.
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TeresaPumaniMulaPimangka 13. Teresa Pumani, Mula Pimangka, Seven Sisters Tjukurrpa 2020, acrylic on linen, 101 x 101cm MM4832 | $2200
Photo: Meg Hansen Photography
Teresa Pumani Mula Pimangka is a senior cultural woman of the Mimili community who paints the Kunkarunkara Tjukurpa (Seven Sisters Creation Story). This Tjukurpa is about the constellations of Pleiades and Orion. The sisters are constellation of Pleiades and the other star Orion is said to be Nyiru or Nyirunya (described as a bad, untrustworthy man). For Teresa, the story is “about family looking after each other, and teaching and helping each other. The women being followed by a bad man, but the older sisters are looking after the younger ones.” Teresa herself has four daughters – including the talented emerging star artist Anita Pumani. The family sometimes work together on large paintings of elling the Kunkarunkara Tjukurpa. She says: “That’s our way – working together and looking after one another.”
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EVERYWHEN Artspace specialises in contemporary Australian Aboriginal art featuring paintings, barks, ochres, ceramics, sculptures and works on paper from 40 + Aboriginal art centres from around Australia. Directors Susan McCulloch OAM and Emily McCulloch Childs.
EVERYWHEN Artspace 39 Cook Street, Flinders VIC 3929 T: +61 3 5989 0496 E: info@mccullochandmcculloch.com.au mccullochandmcculloch.com.au