Exhibition Insight... Walka Waru: Ninuku Kalawatjanga ungu painta
Samuel Miller, Ngayuku Ngura, 2019; Nyanu Watson, Tjulpu, 2019; Samuel Miller, Ngayuku Ngura, 2019; Selinda Davidson, Walka, 2019, Nyanu Watson, Tjulpu, 2019; Jimmy Donegan, Pukara, 2019; Nyanu Watson, Tjulpu, Phyllis Watson, Tjitjti Tjuta, 2019; Samuel Miller, Ngayuku Ngura, 2019; Nyanu Watson, Tjulpu, 2019; Carol Young, Walka Wiru, 2019. Photo: Grant Hancock.
Wanapari - in a line, following one another
Ernabella Arts
Words by Rebecca Freezer.
Rebecca is Assistant Curator at JamFactory.
FINDING NEW INSPIRATION
One of the most exciting things happening in Aboriginal art is the experimentation into new materials and forms.i
Walka Waru: Ninuku Kalawatjanga ungu painta sees the Ninuku artists painting beyond the canvas to create works that are the first of their kind. Here, the contemporary medium of glass becomes a new vehicle for cultural expression for the Ninuku community.
Located in Kalka, near the tri-state border of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, Ninuku Arts is the most remote art centre in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. Ninuku remains wholly-Indigenous owned and governed since its establishment in 2006. The predominant language of the region is Pitjantjatjara and Ninuku supports artists from two communities - Pipalyatjara and Kalka, each with a population of around 100-150 Anangu (people). Ninuku Arts takes its name from the Ninu, meaning bilby, an animal to which the Anangu have a deep spiritual connection.
Guided by art centre manager Mandi King, the community appropriates the traditional Swedish Graal technique to realise their designs. The Graal technique was developed in 1916 by Orrefors, and was inspired by the French art nouveau glass. In this contemporary translation of Graal, small glass ‘starter bubbles’ in the artists’ chosen shades of black, red and ochre are sent to the community-built, mud-brick building that Ninuku Arts operates from. The community of artists then hand-paint, in enamel, their characteristically bold and colourful designs onto the glass forms before they are fired in the centre’s new kiln. Upon returning to Adelaide, the works are coated with more layers of clear glass and blown into their final enlarged size by JamFactory glass artists.
This process allows the Ninuku artists to present their Tjukurpa (ancestral stories) in entirely new materials and forms. The layers of glass play with the light, creating a spectacular translucence and stunning three-dimensional effects that captivate the gaze.
Each glass vessel in Walka Waru shows a personal expression of how the individual artists from the community relates to their country and culture. In Anangu culture, stories and painting styles are often protected within families, of which only select individuals have permission to continue in their own art practice. The artists of Ninuku embrace their stylistic differences in this striking new medium. From Ruth Fatt’s bush food depicted in abstract brushstrokes; to the distinct, monochromatic avian figures of Nyanu Watson; to the fine dots in astonishingly iridescent colours of lawman, Jimmy Donegan. This project not only explores a diversification of creative practices for the community but also allows inter-generational learning.
“Both senior painters and young painters are working on this project. For both it is a new way to paint. Senior painters been working on canvas for a long time. It is a new way for Ninuku artists.'‘ii
Jimmy Donegan, Pukara, 2019. Photo: Grant Hancock.
BIOGRAPHIES
SELINDA DAVIDSON
Selinda was born in 1994 in Alice Springs. She attended primary school in Alice Springs and as a teenager she moved to Irruntyju and then Pipalyatjara. After Selinda finished school, she became a member of the Ninuku Arts Centre painting regularly as well as serving as an arts worker. Selinda enjoys making walka (design) inspired by traditional mark making and Tjukurpa. She speaks both Pitjantjatjara and English.
JIMMY DONEGAN
Jimmy Donegan was born at Yanpan, a rockhole near Ngatuntjarra Bore, Western Australia, circa 1940. He grew up as a bush baby in country around Blackstone and Mantamuru (Jamieson), WA. Jimmy has family links throughout the APY lands and his wife was from a place near Kalka. Jimmy took his wife and children to live at Blackstone because of his connection to that country. He is now widowed and has returned to the Kalka community to live with his children, and closer to his sister, Ninuku artist Molly Nampitjin Miller. Jimmy is rich in story and a strong man for law and culture. In 2010, Jimmy Donegan won the most prestigious art prize in Australia – The Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award. He was the winner of two sections – the General Painting Category and the Overall Prize.
RUTH FATT
Ruth was born in 1959, near Granites in the Northern Territory. During her younger years it was common for families to spend most of their time out bush, living in wiltjas (traditional shelters). Families would also occasionally travel into communities for work. For this reason, when Ruth was growing up she spent much of her time in the APY Lands, particularly around the communities of Pukatja and Fregon.
Early in her adult life, she married and moved to Coober Pedy, where she continued to live for many years. She raised four children in Coober Pedy where she also worked in the opal mines. Upon the passing of her husband, she returned to the APY Lands, settling into the community of Kanpi. It was here where Ruth met her second husband, David Miller. Today Ruth and David live in Pipalyatjara. They are both prominent artists at the Ninuku Art Centre.
SAMUEL MILLER
Samuel was born at the Ernabella mission to Helen Miller, the first wife of Mr Miller. He grew up in Amata and Pipalyatjara and now lives in Kalka, with his second mother, Nampitjin Molly Miller, a fellow Ninuku artist. He is a committed member of Ninuku Arts, usually painting every day. Samuel’s works depict the traditional iconography of his land that lies to the east of Pipalyatjara. Rockholes, creeks and hills feature in his paintings, all immersed in Tjukurpa. Samuel’s paintings are mesmerising with their minimalist composition and extensive use of radiating colours, mostly drawn from the varying colours in the landscape surrounding his country.
NYANU WATSON
Nyanu Watson grew up in Ernabella before it became a mission. She moved back to Kalka in the Homelands movement when Anangu began to return to their country. She is now a prominent member of the Kalka Community where she lives with her family.
Nyanu is known for her unusual depictions of various animals found in the surrounding district where she lives. She uses a combination of brushwork and dotting to create the highly-stylised and unique creatures that she had become known for. Some of her favourites include the Ngintaka (Lizard), Anumara (Caterpillar), and Kakalyalya (Cockatoo).
RITA WATSON
Rita was born in the Warburton Ranges, Western Australia. She moved between Amata and Wingellina as she was growing up and is the daughter of Tjuruparu Watson–a renowned Irrunytju Arts painter from Wingellina, WA. She now lives in Kalka with her husband and regularly paints designs associated with her father’s country Illurpa.
KRISTELLE WARD
24-year old Kristelle Ward was born in Alice Springs and attended school in both the Pipalyatjara community and in Adelaide. She now lives in Pipalyatjara and works at Ninuku Arts. Kristelle started painting in 2018 and by working alongside senior artists she developed her style of fine dot work. A colour palette of cool greens and blues is also characteristic of Kristelle’s designs.
CAROL YOUNG
Carol Young was born in 1972 in Alice Springs. Like many other Anangu, Carol remembers spending much of her younger years travelling between communities, particularly Amata and Pipalyatjara. Today, Carol lives in Pipalyatjara and is the primary carer for several of her family members. Carol comes from a strong Anangu family, with both her father and grandmother also being prominent artists. Her father, Stanley Young, is an artist as well as a local elder, lawman, and camel herder. She is also the granddaughter of the late Nyankula Watson, an important Western Desert Painter.
The Tjukurpa and unique art style of Nyankula influences all of Carol’s work today. Carol uses dot work, with some sweeping brush strokes, to depict the mystical stories of her country.
CASSARIA YOUNG HOGAN
Cassaria was born in Alice Springs in 1997. Fellow Ninuku artist Carol Young has looked after Cassaria since she was a baby. Cassaria grew up in the Kalka community and attended school in Pipalyatjara. She has two sisters and now lives with the Young family in the Pipalyatjara community.
i Hanna Presley, ‘Walka Waru: Ninuku Kalawatjanga ungu painta’ Nici Cumpston et al, Tarnanthi: festival of contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander art (2019) 174.
ii David Miller quoted in Hanna Presley, ‘Walka Waru’, 175.
ESSAY:
Rebecca Freezer
EXHIBITORS:
Tara Brady
Selinda Davidson
Jimmy Donegan
Ruth Fatt
Samuel Miller
Nyanu Watson
Phyllis Watson
Rita Watson
Kristelle Ward
Carol Young
Cassaria Young-Hogan
WALKA WARU: NINUKU KALAWATJANGA UNGU PAINTA
WARM WORKS: NINUKU PAINTING INSIDE GLASS
NINUKU ARTS
12 October - 12 November 2019
JamFactory
Atrium/Shop
Presented as part of Tarnanthi.