EDITION RUG 'Watiya Tjuta Tree’ design by Mitjili Napurrula
EDITION RUG 'Watiya Tjuta Tree’ design by Mitjili Napurrula
Limited edition rug # 31/100
91 x 152cm
Hand dyed, chain stitched wool finished with a heavy cotton backing with a sleeve to hang if desired. This rug is born of a cross cultural collaboration between Aboriginal artists and traditional Kashmiri weavers through Better World Arts. Purchase of this rug directly benefits the artists and and their communities, control and ownership of intellectual property are also maintained.
Each rug is a completely handmade piece. This project brings many direct benefits to the artists’ and their families. Control and ownership of intellectual property are maintained by the artists and the artisans. The artists are the custodians of their stories and country, the Kashmiris are the cultural owners of this particular handicraft. It is not possible to find this handicraft outside of the Kashmir valley. Purchase of these rugs guarantees a direct return to the Aboriginal artist as well as supporting traditional work in the remote regions of the Kashmir valley. Text courtesy of Better World Arts
This design is taken from an original painting by Mitjili Napurrula. Mitjili paints the Watiya Tjuta tree. Her style is unique and recognisable. The Watiya Tjuta in Mitjili’s paintings is her father’s Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) in Ilyingaungau country (Gibson Desert). This was passed down to her by her mother, Tjunkayi Napaltjarri when story telling, using the same to draw the story as it is told in the traditional way. She remembers “…After I got married, my mother taught me my father’s Tjukurrpa in the sand, that’s what I’m painting on the canvas”, a women’s interpretation.
Mitjili Napurrula was born in 1945 at Papunya, 200 kilometres west of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of Tupa Tjakamarra and Tjunkiya Napaltjarri. Her mother, Tjunkayi Napaltjarri, was a Pintupi/Luritja woman from Yumari who also became an artist of repute. Her mother ‘came in’ from the drought stricken Pintupi/Luritja country seeking refuge and rations in the remote community of Ikuntji (Haast’s Bluff). Along with her extended family, she was settled at Papunya, where Mitjili was born.
Mitjili Napurrula is a Pintupi woman from the Haasts Bluff region in the Northern Territory and began painting at the Ikuntji Women's Centre in 1993. Her style is reminiscent of that of her husband, acclaimed artist and winner of the 1999 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Long Tom Tjapanangka.
Mitjili predominantly paints her father's Country, the pristine hills, bushes and trees of Uwalki. Her canvases are patterned with bold, vibrant colours and contain an incredible energy. Her distinctive style has gained her a strong following within Australia and internationally.
COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney
Artbank
Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Edith Cowan University Art Collection, Perth
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
1999 Alice Prize (Central Australian Art Award), Alice Springs
1997 14th Telstra NATSIAA, finalist
1994 Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs
1993 The Australian Heritage Award, Canberra
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008 Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2000 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
1997 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008
Black & White: Inspired by Landscapes, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney
2005
Rêver, Découvrir, Investir, the Australian Embassy, Paris, France
Maîtres du Désert, Galerie DAD, Mantes La Jolie, France
2000
Beyond the Pale, Adelaide Festival Exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia
1999 - 2000
Ikuntji Tjuta touring exhibition, Regional Galleries of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory
1999
Spirit Country: Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, USA
1997
Tjuta in Adelaide, Gallerie Australia, Adelaide
Ikuntji Tjuta in Canberra, Alliance Francaise, Canberra
Dreamings: Aboriginal Kunst uit Australie, Netherlands
Aboriginal Art, Goteborgs Konstforening, Sweden
The Desert Mob Art Show,
Ikuntji Tjuta in Sydney, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
14th National Aboriginal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Darwin
28th Alice Prize, Araluen
Mulch & Metaphors: The Garden in Contemporary Art, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
1996
The Heritage Award, Canberra
Adelaide Fringe Festival Exhibition, Gallerie Australis, Adelaide
1995
National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Darwin
Northern Territory Art Award, Alice Springs
Works on Paper, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney
Ikuntji: New Art from the Western Desert, (book launch) Framed Gallery, Darwin
Paintings from Haasts Bluff, Hogarth Gallery, Sydney
Mitjili Napurrula and Marlee Napurrula, Flinders Lane Gallery, Melbourne
Yiribana, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1994
The Heritage Art Award, Canberra
Australian High Commission and Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore