The Tiwi Islands, Curated by Natasha Bullock and Keith Munro from the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia

BEING TIWI – Exhibition in Focus

CLASS KIT

mca.com.au/learn MCA Introduction 2 BEING TIWI – Introduction

Being Tiwi is an exhibition of works by nine artists from the Tiwi Islands, curated by Natasha Bullock and Keith Munro from the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia. Bringing together over 80 works, the exhibition highlights the history of print-making on the Tiwi Islands as well as the more recent developments by Tiwi artists in painting and print media. Bringing new and old together, Being Tiwi includes the first prints produced on the islands in 1969 along with work recently acquired for the MCA Collection and new work commissioned specifically for the exhibition.

The artists included in Being Tiwi are Timothy Cook, Raelene Kerinauia, Maria Josette Orsto, Eddie Puruntatameri (1948–1995), Nina Puruntatameri, Cornelia Tipuamantumirri, Bede Tungutalum, Giovanni Tipungwuti (1953–1993) and Pedro Wonaeamirri.

Being Tiwi highlights the uniqueness of Tiwi culture, and the ways the innovation and individual creativity of Tiwi artists sees them continue to express this culture in contemporary ways. This class kit will introduce you to Eddie Puruntatameri the Tiwi Islands and explore these ideas through the themes: The Tiwi Islands, Pirimurwu (Sitting Man) 1969-1996 All One: Art & Culture, New Ways/Old Ways, and Individuality. woodcut on rice paper, printed by Osmond Kantilla, Bonaventure Timaepatua and Frank Gohier at Tiwi Design, Bathurst Island. Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased 1997, image courtesy and © the artist MCA 3

THE TIWI ISLANDS MCA The Tiwi Islands 4

What is the most unique place you have ever visited? What made it so distinct from other places?

WARM UP MCA The Tiwi Islands 5 “

Despite appearances, it is the Tiwi who are geographically at the centre and the south that is flickeringly ‘remote’.

Diana ”Wood Conroy, 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 35 MCA Theme 6

Artist’s name Title of Artwork in this image page [dbl space]2005-2007 artwork materials, purchasing details e.g. with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2013, image courtesy and © the artist MCA The Tiwi Islands 7

‘Tiwi’ loosley translates as ‘one people’ The Tiwi Islands are made up of Bathurst and Melville Islands, and are located about 80 kilometres to the north of Darwin in the Northern Territory. The Tiwi people are described as fiercely independent and culturally unique traditional owners of the land. A result of the island’s isolation, the distinct language and traditions of the Tiwi sets them apart from Aboriginal cultures on the mainland of Australia. Demonstrated throughout Being Tiwi, it is a shared belief on the islands that this unique culture and its customs be kept alive.

Remote northern beach, Melville Island, Photograph: James Courtney MCA The Tiwi Islands 8

Draw a map showing the journey you would take to get to the Tiwi Islands from your house.

• How would you get there? • How long would it take?

QUICK ACTIVITY MCA 9

All ONe: ART & CULTURE MCA All One: Art & Culture 10

Share with the person next to you five things about the place where you grew up.

• What did you find out about the person next to you? • How does this new information help you to understand them better? QUICK ACTIVITY MCA All One: Art & Culture 11 “ Art is an inextricable part of Tiwi culture. Consequently, an understanding of Tiwi cultural traditions forms a basis for the appreciation and understanding of Tiwi art.

Natasha” Bullock & Keith Munro, 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 21 MCA All One: Art & Culture 12

The important kinship lines that structure Tiwi society and the larger ceremonial traditions in Tiwi culture are at the core of art making on the Tiwi Islands.

Kinship Tiwi artists make decisions based on important relationships to their country, dreaming and skin group. The islands are divided into two countries inherited from the father. A Tiwi child’s dreaming or totem is also handed down by the father. Their skin group (yiminga) is inherited from their mother, and determines who they can marry.

Bede Tungutalum Murtangkala 2015 linocut on paper, printed by Tom Goulder at Duck Print Fine Art Limited Edition, Port Kembla. Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2015, image courtesy and © the artist MCA All One: Art & Culture 13

Ceremony The Kulama and Pukumani ceremonies, and the telling of the creation period or dreaming (Palingarri), are central to Tiwi life and art. These ceremonial traditions celebrate life, mark death and are a reminder of the beginning of time.

Palingarri is the creation period, a time before death. Before creation, an old lady called Murtangkala carved a straight in the sea to create the two Tiwi Islands while carrying her son and two daughters on her back in a tunga, or bark basket.

Murtangkala’s son, Purukapali, is a great ancestral spirit. His son, Jinani, died after being neglected by Purukapali’s wife, Bima, and brother, Tapara. Although Tapara promised to restore Janani to life again, Purukapali declared that death would now enter the world, bringing the creation period to its end. Choosing to die with his son, Purukapali’s death is regarded as the first Tiwi funeral or Pukumani ceremony. MCA All One: Art & Culture 14

The Pukumani ceremony involves singing and dancing (yoi) Pukumani with designs (Jilamara) painted onto the body in brightly coloured ochre. The Jilamara and sacred markings related to kin are used to disguise participants from the spirits of the Kulama dead. Jilamara are also used on tutuni, or burial poles, that are placed around the gravesite. Jilamara Kulama is an annual ceremony that celebrates life. It symbolises the initiation of young boys into men as knowledge and learning are passed on through ceremony. At the end of the wet season when the moon is full, Tiwi spend three days and nights sing and dance on a ceremonial ground marked out by large concentric circles with a fire in the centre. Towards the end of the ceremony, yams are carefully prepared so as to not be poisonous, cooked with fire and eaten. MCA All One: Art & Culture 15

What kinds of traditions and ceremonies do you and your family take part in? What important times in life do they mark?

• What might these ceremonies tell someone else about what it’s like to be a part of your family? DISCUSSION IDEAS MCA 16

OLD WAYS/NEW WAYS MCA Old Ways/New Ways 17

Have you ever made something old new again? What was it and why did you do it?

WARM UP MCA Old Ways/New Ways 18 “ Bede translated the grandeur of ceremonial art into prints on fabric ... the western technique of silkscreen … was added to the Tiwi toolbox, but the patterns bubbled up from an ancient resevoir of forms.

Diana ”Wood Conroy, 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 33 MCA Old Ways/New Ways 19

Printmaking was introduced to the Tiwi Islands in 1968 when Madeleine Clear arrived on Bathurst Island in response to an advertisement calling for an artist to work with young Tiwi artists. The advertisement was placed by Bishop John O’Loughlin from Darwin, who believed the Tiwi’s woodcarving traditions might transfer into woodcutting practices.

Working with artists Bede Tungutalum, Eddie Puruntatameri and Giovanni Tipungwui, Clear encouraged experimentation with the print medium. With limited space, materials and tools, the artists created works with imagery drawn from their lives and the environment. Tiwi Design was born in 1970 when the success and growth of the artists’ workshop saw it transformed into a business.

Giovanni Tipungwuti Arlipiwura (Pelican) 1969-1996 Woodcut on rice paper. Printed by Osmond Kantilla, Bonaventure Timaepatua and Frank Gohier at Tiwi Design, Bathurst Island. Museum of Contemporary Art, purchased 1997. Image courtesy and © the artist MCA Old Ways/New Ways 20

Over the next years, the success and style of Tiwi art evolved, with artists creating continuous patterns and abstract designs, referencing the ceremonial designs made by their grandparents’ generation.

The paintings and prints seen in Being Tiwi show the way ceremonial traditions continue to influence Tiwi artists’ works, from painting the body, carving and decorating tutini for Pukumani to making tungas and other ceremoial regalia. Artists also now use the pwoja in their works, a traditional painting comb used for body painting.

Left: Maria Josette Orsto Kulama 2010 Japanese-style woodcut, Museum of Contemporary Art. Purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2015, image courtesy and © the artist MCA Old Ways/New Ways 21

Click on image to play video of artist using the pwoja

Cornelia Tipuamantumirri Jilamara Design 2015 ochre on linen, courtesy the artist and Jilamara Arts & Crafts Associaion, image courtesy and © the artist MCA Old Ways/New Ways 22

Can you think any examples of when old knowledge, stories or traditions are reinterpreted into contemporary forms? Why do you think people and societies are so interested in doing this?

DISCUSSION IDEAS MCA Old Ways/New Ways 23

Why do you think reflecting on ceremonial traditions in innovative ways is so important to Tiwi artists?

DIG DEEPER MCA 24

INDIVIDUality MCA Individuality 25

Follow these instructions to create a quick drawing: 1. Draw a circle 2. Draw a semi-circle inside the circle 3. Draw two “L” shapes next to each other on the bottom of the circle 4. On the left side of the circle, draw a triangle 5. On the right side of the circle, draw a smaller circle 6. Draw a “U” shape inside the smaller circle 7. Draw a small triangle on the right side of the smaller circle.

• Share your drawings as a group. Are they all the same? • Why do you think there are differences between the drawings? QUICK ACTIVITY MCA Individuality 26 “

Although the titles of works are similar, the intricacies and differences in the designs and their application are unique to each artist.

Natasha” Bullock & Keith Munro, 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 26 MCA Individuality 27

Left: Pedro Wonaeamirri Jilamara 2015 natural ochres on paper, Museum of Contemporary Art commission, purchased with funds provided by the MCA Foundation, 2015

Right: Raelene Kerinauia Jilamara (detail) 2015 natural ochres on paper, Museum of Contemporary Art commission, courtesy the artist and Jilamara Arts & Crafts Associaion. © Raelene Kerinauia/Licensed by Visocopy 2015 MCA Individuality 28

Individual expression is celebrated in Tiwi culture, with each artist bringing their own unique style to their expression of shared cultural traditions. Compare the artworks by Pedro Wonaeamirri and Raelene Kerinauia.

• What is shared between these artworks and what is unique to each of them? • What words would you use to describe each artist’s style? • What do you think these different versions of Jilamara could tell you about each artist?

DISCUSSION IDEAS MCA Individuality 29

“individual creativity continues to transform and evolve the traditions of cultural expression on the Tiwi Islands.” (Natasha Bullock & Keith Munro, 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 21) How do cultures change over time? How are Tiwi artists both preserving and evolving culture through their individual creativity?

DIG DEEPER MCA Reflection 30 “ ...hopefully the next generation of families will come and work here at the arts centre and carry on the knowledge of Tiwi, not just painting, carving, but also talking ... sharing it out to Australians ... [to] the whole world.

Pedro Wonaeamirri,” 2016, Being Tiwi catalogue, p. 27 MCA 31

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