TIWI CREATION

Flowing arcs of dot-mark lines portray the world in patterns and rhythms on every canvas. The sun’s glare, the moon’s glow, the black of night, all depicted in ochre, the country’s own pigment lifted from the earth. Such is the art of the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin — the longest-known and most thoroughly recorded Indigenous creative tradition in Australia.

The works in this exhibition showcase the artists’ individual styles in depicting shared stories. Some artists adhere closely to traditional tools, employing a wooden comb (Pwoja) to apply dots to their canvas or sculpture. Others may use sticks or western paint brushes in their mark-making.

The commonality comes from the deep heritage and tradition each artist is influenced and inspired by. In an introductory statement in the book Tiwi, Art/Histroy/Culture, Pedro Wonaemirri opens with ‘We are the Tiwi. Tiwi is we the people. […] We Tiwi people have to keep our culture alive. The art from long time ago and today – we are still seeing it as Tiwi art.”

Tiwi society is quite different to that of mainland communities. The Kulama and the Pukumani ceremonies lie at the heart of Tiwi culture. The Kulama is the ceremony associated with fertility and abundance, during which poisonous yams are made edible. The Pukumani is a funeral ceremony in which elaborate poles are carved, decorated, and erected to become the focus of dancing and singing. Intricate designs adorn the face and body of the performers, matching the designs of the poles.

“The knowledge is when you listen, then look — the knowledge is by words, singing, talking, and also the dance, meanings of dance, and the song that goes with the dance and also art as well. And now I am creating my own art, my own style, totally different. My art is my art” Pedro Wonaeamirri

Jennifer Isaacs explains in her comprehensive book Tiwi, Art/History/Culture. “Distinct in style and form, the art of the Tiwi may be rooted in tradition and ceremony but not all can, or should be explained.
“The Tiwi artists feel the interior meaning of paintings is changeable and is theirs to know or think about at a given time. Recording a story tightens the meaning of a work in a restrictive manner. The real feeling in the work is primarily only in the artist’s own mind and not necessarily something the purchasers of the painting, whether galleries or collectors, should need or want to know. As meaning probably only occurs subconsciously during the making process, expanding on it for others would seem, to Tiwi, somewhat irrelevant.”