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August
Small Barks and
Paintings - The Kalumburu Project
This exhibition is the result of an exhilarating project as it
offered an opportunity to be involved in the very early stages of an
emerging art centre. It presents new as well as ‘iconic’ artists at
a time when this small community is re-establishing its ‘cultural
voice’. We are delighted by the raw talent, magic, and creativity.
The tiny paintings are original, fresh, immediate and sometimes
playful. They echo the dreams and histories of individuals. The
project also offers a promising future for a community.
Kalumburu is the most northern settlement in the far north of the
Kimberley in Western Australia with access by a rough dirt road
during the dry season and light aircraft year round. It is a region
of extraordinary rock art. Its heritage is timeless. Home to
Aboriginal people for many thousands of years it is currently a
community of 400 residents.
"Kalumburu is where the Wandjina gaze through you from the
rocky ledges and Kwion go about their complex lives, pecked into the
galleries by the bloody beak of a small bird. Where the Kwini have
walked the land and fished and hunted in the mangroves and lived
alongside the Julinya, the Jarnba since the beginning. Kalumburu is
comprised of several tribes - the Kwini, Walumbi, Klarri, (Woonambal,
Gambura), Ngarinyan, Bardi, Jarbi and many others. It is a mix of
Catholic, government and traditional culture. Their language is not
spoken in the street and the ceremony dances only performed yearly
on the mission anniversary. However cultural power is stored in the
land beyond the reach of politics and you can feel it in this new
work.
When I arrived here in May 2009 most of these artists had
never painted before, Lilly Karadada being the obvious exception.
The first works referenced cave paintings which are natural store
houses for an astonishing number and variety of paintings - large
and powerful Wandjina paintings; complex Kwion galleries set on
ledges; a small Gulangi (cyclone) painted in isolation on the path
to a larger painting site; a Namarrga (baby cradle) sitting on the
exposed edge of a overhang used for smoking ceremonies to cleanse
babies; animals curled onto the rocky surfaces.
Mary "Punchi" Clement was the first person to paint with me.
Her mother is Ignatia Djangarra has passed away now. She becomes
"empty" and allows her stories to "appear on the board". Mary was
joined by Mercy Payrrmurra and Betty Bundamara who both began by
painting Wandjinas which are still featured in many of the new
works. And then Mary Tailor turned up and then Gwen Clarke and then
more artists.
Painting has become an expansive exercise in design as the
artists explore colour, placement and themes, far removed from the
often formulaic works associated with Kalumburu in the last few
years. The artists are now considering naming the art centre as it
has become a part of their every day. They want to call it
Balinyirri after the black cockatoo. They want to honour the old
people who have passed by continuing to make these stories”.
Christopher Durkin, Arts Worker, The Kalumburu Project
June, 2010 |
