Exhibition Insight... Pungungi Marrgu (old and new)
Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Wupun (Sun Mat), 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Regina Pilawuk Wilson/Durrmu Arts.
Pungungi Marrgu (old and new)
Regina Pilawuk Wilson
Words by Margaret Hancock Davis.
Margaret is Senior Curator at JamFactory.
Situated amid wetlands and floodplains at the centre of the Daly River Aboriginal Reserve, Peppimentari (meaning ‘large rock’) is a permanent settlement for the Ngangikurrungurr people. Peppi as it is often affectionately known was re-established by one of the community’s most celebrated and innovative artists Regina Pilawuk Wilson and her husband Harold in 1973.
As Wilson notes ‘I moved back out in the 70s with my husband. My husband and I started Peppimentari. Peppimentari is a nice community, 250 people we have a school, clinic, shop, office and club, and every Sunday we go out fishing. I live by the river 100 yards away from my house. In the wet season we don’t have floods, sometimes we have crocs coming into our yard in the wet season.
Peppimentari is a strong culture. We have a small art centre, no toilet or shower, and we work on the deck from 8 o’clock till 12 and some artists all ladies come together every morning, we work there, some artists have different jobs as well.’
The small art centre, Durrmu Arts, is essential to the town, providing an important nexus addressing the loss of language and re-engagement with cultural practices whilst also providing an economic resource for community.
When I used to make fishnet and dilly bag, we’d go out in the bush in twos and get all natural colours from berries and roots, we mash it up and heat on the fire to get colour. We do weaving workshops with the kids every Tuesdays, so most of the ladies join in the workshops, everyone can make their own baskets, dilly bags and big fish nets.’
Wilson came to prominence to the contemporary art world when she took out the General Painting at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2003 for golden yellow Syaw, (fishnet). Wilson is known for her colourist palette and vast abstracted paintings that translatethe rhythmic patterns of traditional weaving stitches. The catalyst for the move from weaving to painting came when she attended the Art Biennale (Pacific Arts Festival) in 2000.
‘Me and my niece with Karen Brown went to Noumea, New Caledonia to meet 6000 artists over there, they have that festival every 4 years, so Karen asked us to go with her and we started painting at Noumea also had a workshop withNew Zealand ladies weaving. It was a great trip for me and my niece.’
Regina Pilawuk Wilson. Photo: Saul Steed
For Tarnanthi Regina has worked with Adelaide based ceramic artist Ashlee Hopkins and potter Mark Heidenreich as well as JamFactory’s Ceramic Studio to further extend her creative repertoire, producing ceramic renditions of Walipan or Syaw (fishnets), Ngangi (message stick) and Sun Mats.
Wilson further explains the forms she is creating for the exhibition:
‘Walipan or Syaw (fishnets) were used for catching barramundi, turtle, prawn, mussels in freshwater - billabongs. Two people would drag the net in the water, others people would shoo/ hunt the fish into the net as they walk down creeks, billabongs and rivers. They used to make really big fish nets, sometimes big enough to block the creek. We don’t use these anymore because of the crocodiles- big mob. It is important to make these fishnets. They are important to our culture and our lifestyle. They have been used many for thousands of years. It is for our children and grandchildren to continue to learn this knowledge and to remember how our ancestors used to use the fish net.
Ngangi (message stick) was used for travelling, each morning as people woke up they marked the stick to remember how many days, months, years they were away from home. There are two ways of signalling people. Telling people how far they are by Ngangi message stick yenagi tawun smoke. Walking thousands of miles on feet through dry and wet seasons before the western world came.’
The residencies and Tarnanthi exhibition is an opportunity for Wilson to work collaboratively and as she states to share the story with boimahgaddi (white fella) – what our ancestors did many thousands of years; sharing lifestyle and how our ancestors lived is important. To share our story to western world is important.
Reflecting on the collaboration Ashlee Hopkins notes Regina’s outlook has encouraged her to be confident and make bold moves as she says: ‘I think I really was inspired by Regina’s jump-to-it approach. Like a lot of people that work in ceramics, I’m always quite tentative to try something new or play with it, but Regina just says, “Okay,” and then just started doing it. Regina reminded me that I could just jump in and try other things every now and then. I don’t need to think about it as hard; just use the knowledge you’ve got to apply to something else.
I have also learnt a lot from Regina about her home and her community and where she’s come from, and the historical context of her work, where it’s come from and how that’s grown within her practice.’
CURATOR:
Margaret Hancock Davis and Kade McDonald.
ESSAY:
Margaret Hancock Davis
EXHIBITOR:
Regina Pilawuk Wilson
PUNGUNGI MARRGU (OLD AND NEW)
12 October - 1 December 2019
JamFactory
Gallery One
Presented as part of Tarnanthi.