Enjoying Art
The Martu Artists
Martumili Ngurra (This is all Martu’s Home) presents the Martu peoples’ homelands, including the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts. The six artists who collaborated on the work all live or have strong family associations with the remote community of Parnngurr, located 370 kms east of Newman in Western Australia. The painting includes sacred sites, waterholes, and pathways that are integral to Martu life, whilst also recording the impacts of mining and modern pastoralism.
Artists from the Martu communities in Western Australia are renowned for their collaborative works, reflecting their deep knowledge of the land and ancestral stories. These impressive paintings serve an important role in the education of younger generations, ensuring culture is preserved. They depict the desert landscape in intricate detail, mapping significant cultural, social, and ecological sites, as well as sharing geographic information and instructions on caring for Country. These works are the result of collective processes where older and younger artists come together to paint, share stories and sing, passing down Martu knowledge to future generations.
Kalyu was painted as a protest against uranium mining exploration near Karlamilyi National Park in Western Australia. It depicts a fragile ecosystem with vital underground water systems, illustrating the interdependence of each of the elements and reflecting a deep cultural and ecological connection to Country. Kalyu is a powerful statement for the preservation of the desert environment. The painting documents the landscape from below the ground up to the surface of the earth.
[We] painted to save it from the uranium mine…and to tell them there is an underground stream…There’s no water on the surface to keep the dust down. That’s why we painted this big painting, to tell them and to teach others about the water system in our land. —Ngalangka Nola Taylor, 2014
Enjoying Art
The Martu Artists
Martumili Ngurra (This is all Martu’s Home) presents the Martu peoples’ homelands, including the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts. The six artists who collaborated on the work all live or have strong family associations with the remote community of Parnngurr, located 370 kms east of Newman in Western Australia. The painting includes sacred sites, waterholes, and pathways that are integral to Martu life, whilst also recording the impacts of mining and modern pastoralism.
Artists from the Martu communities in Western Australia are renowned for their collaborative works, reflecting their deep knowledge of the land and ancestral stories. These impressive paintings serve an important role in the education of younger generations, ensuring culture is preserved. They depict the desert landscape in intricate detail, mapping significant cultural, social, and ecological sites, as well as sharing geographic information and instructions on caring for Country. These works are the result of collective processes where older and younger artists come together to paint, share stories and sing, passing down Martu knowledge to future generations.
Kalyu was painted as a protest against uranium mining exploration near Karlamilyi National Park in Western Australia. It depicts a fragile ecosystem with vital underground water systems, illustrating the interdependence of each of the elements and reflecting a deep cultural and ecological connection to Country. Kalyu is a powerful statement for the preservation of the desert environment. The painting documents the landscape from below the ground up to the surface of the earth.
[We] painted to save it from the uranium mine…and to tell them there is an underground stream…There’s no water on the surface to keep the dust down. That’s why we painted this big painting, to tell them and to teach others about the water system in our land. —Ngalangka Nola Taylor, 2014