Exhibition Insight... Wanapari - in a line, following one another

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Vennita Lionel wearing Liritja III, Ethel Doolan wearing Liritja II, Dreshelle Doolan wearing Liritja I by the artists of Ernabella Arts Inc. Photo: Courtesy Ernabella Arts.

Wanapari - in a line, following one another
Ernabella Arts

Words by Caitlin Eyre.
Caitlin is Assistant Curator at JamFactory.

Located in the Pukatja Community in the Musgrave Ranges in the far north west of South Australia, Ernabella Arts is Australia’s oldest, continuously running Indigenous arts centre. The Presbyterian Board of Missions established Pukatja (Ernabella) as the first permanent settlement of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in 1937, with a craft room established in 1948. The first craft products made on the mission were hand-loomed woven fabrics and hand-pulled and knotted floor rugs that featured distinctive pattern that became known as the Ernabella walka or anapalayaku walka (Ernabella’s design). In recent years, the senior women artists have departed from the walka of the early years of the arts centre to focus on their Tjukurpa, or sacred stories of country and law.i

The artists of Ernabella Arts are celebrated for the diversity, adaptability and ingenuity of their artistic practice, across a range of mediums: weaving, batik textiles, painting, punu (timber) and, ceramics. This diversity of can be attributed to their decades-old tradition of travelling both interstate and abroad in order to gain new skills and develop new artwork, which is then shared with others in the community upon their return.ii In a continuation of this history of shared knowledge and ever-evolving ingenuity, the older generation of artists at Ernabella Arts continue to identify new opportunities that engage, develop and expand the craft practices and knowledge of the younger generations.

Post a 2016 women’s collaborative ceramics workshop between the art centre and Pukutja school, senior female artists encouraged girls from the senior class to join them in an intergenerational project geared towards the girls’ interest in contemporary jewellery.iii To expand their knowldege of jewellery making the senior artist at Putkja looked to Ku Arts and JamFactory for skill skills development workshops. 

In these workshops, facilitated by JamFactory’s Metal Studio alumna Sarah Rothe and current Associate Sarra Tzijan, and Ceramics Studio alumna Ashlee Hopkins and current Associate Xanthe Murphy, the senior artists shared their ceramics skills with their younger counterparts to create wearable ceramic objects. Modern materials such as stainless steel are combined with ceramic elements and traditional Anangu adornments such as ininti seeds were used to create contemporary expressions of Anangu culture. iv 

Following the success of the two-week pilot workshop held in Pukutja and funded by Ku Arts, additional workshops funded through Tarnanthi were held – a session in Ernabella and a further workshop at JamFactory Adelaide in the lead up to Tarnanthi 2019. These workshops and the resulting exhibition contribute to the proud artistic history of Ernabella Arts:

Ernabella Artist Collective, Liritja II, 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Ernabella Arts.

“Our art centre is a place for strong culture and art making and has been for decades,” says senior artist Tjunkaya Tapaya. “It is like a long-burning fire, stoked and kept alive by the efforts of each consecutive generation. Each generation develops and builds on the work of the next.”v 

Ernabella Artist Collective, Liritja III, 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Ernabella Arts.

BIOGRAPHIES FOR THE SENIOR EXHIBITING ARTISTS

ALISON MILYIKA CARROLL
Alison Milyika’s artwork reflects her identity as a contemporary and senior Pitjantjatara Yankunytjatjara woman. She is the current Chair of Ernabella Arts and was also Anangu Mayatja (Manager) at Ernabella Arts from 2004 to 2007. Her husband Pepai Jangala Carroll is a former community policeman who joined the art centre upon his retirement. Both the Carrolls are strong leaders and excellent spokespeople for APY artists, and Alison Milyika is regularly called on to speak at the opening of exhibitions at public institutions. As well as being a public leader, Alison Milyika is a respected artist working across multiple mediums. Her batik and ceramics are held in public collections both nationally and internationally.

ATIPALKU INTJALKI
Atipalku was born in Pukatja (Ernabella). She began working in the craft room in the early days of Ernabella Arts and was trained in a number of crafts including batik, weaving and making wool rugs. For many years, Atipalku has primarily focused on painting to depict her mother’s stories. 

YURPIYA LIONEL
Yurpiya was born at Donald’s Well, near Kenmore Park, about 45 kilometres east of Pukatja (Ernabella). She is the daughter of Pantjiti Lionel, a very senior Pitjantjatjara woman and artist. In 2004, Yurpiya started painting at Ernabella Arts and is now a leader of the women’s painting studio. She has three children and several grandchildren – her daughters Rachael and Alison Lionel are rising stars of the painting and ceramic studios. Yurpiya is also a very accomplished fibre sculptor and weaver. 

TJARIYA STANLEY
Tjariya Stanley is a Pitjantjatjara woman born in Wingellina in 1939. She is a Ngankari (traditional healer) and holds strong traditional knowledge. Tjariya has been involved in the art centre for decades, during this time she has mastered several different mediums including batik and painting.

Initially, Tjariya assisted in the craft room making floor rugs and knitting jumpers, which were the first enterprises undertaken at Ernabella Arts. In the 1970s, she learnt batik from Nyukana (Daisy) Baker following Nyukana’s visit to Indonesia. Tjariya developed into one of Ernabella’s most accomplished batik artists. She has also taught herself weaving with native grass and tjanpi 9raffia) and crocheting mukata (beanies) with the sheep wool that she still hand spins. For the past few years, Tjariya has chosen to concentrate on painting. She uses this medium to tell the tjukurpa (law) of her country and family. 

Tjariya is a stalwart of the community and the heart of the art centre. She keeps culture strong and is an excellent storyteller, delighting in telling stories of when she was a young girl growing up at the mission. Tjariya has also told sad stories that relate to her personal experiences of the atomicbomb testings at Maralinga and its effects on the Ernabella Community.

RENITA STANLEY
Renita was born at Ernabella Mission in 1962. She has lived there all her life, attending the mission school and following her mother, Tjariya, into the ‘craft room’ upon leaving school. The oldest of five children, Renita and her siblings spent much of their time growing up in their parents’ homeland, Tjalyritja, in times when the homeland (outstation) movement was stronger. Renita has one son, Ngunytjima, who works in the ceramics studio.

Renita has travelled overseas and participated in batik workshops in Indonesia in Yogjakarta. She has exhibited widely around Australia in the mediums of batik, paintingand ceramics. Renita’s distinctive artwork draws from traditional mark making while being her own visual interpretation of her stories. 

TJUNKAYA TAPAYA
Tjunkaya grew up at the Ernabella Mission. She began working in the craft room making weavings, later excelling in the medium of batik. Today, Tjunkaya has vastly expanded her practice working in ceramics, tjanpi, punu, print making, spinning and mukata making. Since 2015, Tjunkaya has chosen to concentrate on painting and tjanpi sculpture. This focus has seen her become one of the most in demand female artists on the APY Lands. Tjunkaya is the Deputy Chair of the art centre and the leader of the Nintintjaku Project, an inter-generational teaching project working with Ernabella Anangu School and the Ernabella NPY youth team. She has also recently recommenced work in the ceramics studio, exhibiting ceramics again for the first time in a number of years. Tjunkaya is also a prolific writer in Pitjantjatjara andis currently developing a bi-lingual children’s book. 

CARLENE THOMPSON
Carlene was born Carlene De Rose in Finke, 1950. Her late husband, Kunmanara (Kawaki) Thompson OAM, was a highly regarded senior Pitjantjatjara man who was a major figure in the Land Rights Movement. Carlene started painting at Ernabella Arts in 2007 and in 2009 began to concentrate on ceramics. Her work is contemporary in style while being based on Country and the creation being of her family’s country, the kalaya (emu). Carlene is a strong participant in women’s ceremony and is passing this knowledge down to her daughters.

MARGARET INYIKA WELLS
Margaret was born in her Father’s country at Haasts Bluff and later moved to her Mother’s country Pukatja (Ernabella). She is a senior painter and her vibrant, intricate paintings of country and landscape mirror her exuberant personality. Margaret holds a deep knowledge of culture and spends her weekends collecting honey ants and witchetty grubs with her grandchildren on nearby homelands. Margaret first began painting at Kaltjiti Arts in Fregon, whilst also working at the school and shop. She later joined Ernabella Arts and now regularly paints alongside her brother, senior artist Pepai Jangala Carroll.

i.Ernabella Arts, ‘Ernabella Arts: the oldest arts centre’, http://www.ernabellaarts.com.au/, accessed 13 September 2019

ii.Ernabella Arts, In These Hands: mara nyangangka – Celebrating 70 Years of Ernabella Arts, Mittagong: Sturt Gallery and Ernabella Arts, 2018

iii.Carmichael, F, ‘Wanapari – in a line, following one another’, Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Adelaide: Art Gallery of South Australia, 2019, p.166

iv.Ibid p. 166

v.ibid, ‘p.168

ESSAY: 
Caitlin Eyre

EXHIBITORS:
Jayanna Andy
Alison Milyika Carroll
Roxanne Carroll
Atipalku Intjalki
Marceena Jack
Imitjala Pantjiti Lewis
Vennita Lionel
Yurpiya Lionel
Nicole Rupert
Renita Stanley
Tjariya Nungalka Stanley
Tjunkaya Tapaya
Anne Thompson
Carlene Thompson
Marissa Thompson
Margaret Inyika Wells

WANAPARI - IN A LINE, FOLLOWING ONE ANOTHER
12 October - 12 November 2019
JamFactory
Collect

Presented as part of Tarnanthi.