Exhibitions Opening Thursday 14th December 6 - 8pm Joanne Currie Nalingu - It Flows & Joshua Bonson - Ancestor’s Footsteps While opening simultaneously, simultaneously, each Exhibition is its own body of work, created entirely independent of one another. Still, the parallels are striking. At surface level, both artists depict bodies of water, each of them deeply significant to their respective history and connection to Country. The artists’ respective subjects - the Maranoa River for Currie Nalingua and the Arafura Sea for Bonson - act as containers of memory, personal and ancestral. For Joanne Currie, the river links back to childhood, “growing up living on the banks of the Maranoa river at the ‘Yumba’ (East Mitchell Aboriginal Settlement)”*. For Bonson, the Arafura sea connects his home in Darwin to his ancestral Country in the Torres Strait. In both cases, the subject offers a fleeting self portrait in the water’s reflection, like an ever-moving and refracting mirror, containing within itself a history that reaches back generations. As the viewer, we are invited to participate: Bonson leads us charging over the tumultuous Arafura sea on the back of his totem, the saltwater crocodile. Joanne Currie invites us to the bank of the Maranoa, where we may kneel and lean out over the water, as far as we can before tipping over; briefly we glimpse a reflection in the rippling surface.

Cooee Art Leven Final days. Ends 9 December 2023 Munupi Arts & Crafts Association is located along Melville Islands North-Western coastline at Pirlangimpi (also known as Garden Point). It is the most recently formed art centre on the Tiwi Islands. The Munupi artists, inspired by their natural lush environment and the Tiwi creation stories, are renowned for their striking approaches to colour and design. Frequently referred to as “Jilamara” (design), their artworks are created using traditional earth ochres, mixed to create a wide range of colours. ARTHUR JOHN COWELL Jiyimpirriyanga, 2022 natural ochres on Belgian linen 120 x 80 cm $3,200 CORNELIA TIPUAMANTUMIRRI Banapa, 2016 natural ochres on Belgian linen 120 x 80 cm $11,000

Ksenia Radchenko Auction Administrator Working in the auction department at Cooee Art Leven provides me with the incredible opportunity to be the first to encounter an array of breathtaking secondary market consignments. I recall a particular moment when I sat on the floor surrounded by the auction works that we just finished hanging. In that serene moment, I couldn't help but feel a profound gratitude for being immersed in such extraordinary beauty. Another aspect that I deeply cherish about my job is the passionate and talented people who share a deep appreciation for the community and creativity. Tommy Yannima Watson Iyarrka, 2013 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian Linen 151.4 x 181 cm $65,000 Tommy Watson’s artworks posses a truly magical vibe that captivates viewers. When I started working at Cooee Art Leven, this strikingly large red, burgundy, pink and blue artwork adorned the office. I vividly recall the overwhelming energy emanating from this piece, as if it breathed life into the space. Queenie McKenzie Nakarra Archbishop Jobst Visiting Blackfellas Camp (...), 1995 felt tipped pen on paper 35 x 50 cm $2,000 Unframed | $2,300 Framed Queenie McKenzie's series of drawings is my personal favourite. Her candid portrayal of life and the convergence of two distinct cultural realms—indigenous cultural traditions and Christianity—is nothing short of captivating. The playful representation of the archbishop and the dogs adds a delightful touch of charm and humour to her work. It invites viewers to appreciate the boundless creativity that defines Queenie's art. Kuntjill Cooper Irrunytju (Rockhole), 2007 81 x 130 cm Synthetic Polymer Paint on Belgian Linen $3,500 The interplay of black and warm earthy hues in this artwork creates dynamic contrasts that captivates me. The blue ribbon of the water passage becomes a focal point. The painting seemingly eradicates the energy of the land. It's a truly wonderful painting that beckons one into its narrative.

Call for consignments Indigenous Fine Art Auction 2024 Cooee Art is seeking consignments of significant pieces for our forthcoming Indigenous Fine Art auction in Sydney in 2024. The auction will include an exceptional collection of art from the Rod Menzies Estate | Indigenous Fine Art Collection Part 2. Cooee Art’s November auction 'The Rod Menzies Estate | Indigenous and Oceanic Art Collection Part 1’ achieved 100% sale rate by volume and 128% by value. Lot #29. Emily Kame Kngwarreye Earth’s Creation II sold for $875,000 including BP against a $400,000 - $600,00 estimate. This demonstrates that demand for quality Indigenous Fine Artworks at auction is strong. Cooee Art’s consistently strong results and high clearance rates are the result of our dedicated and experienced team whose knowledge of Indigenous fine art and it’s market, are acknowledged industry leaders, domestically as well as internationally. For a complimentary appraisal please contact one of our specialists. LOT #29 Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910 - 1996) Earth's Creation II, 1995 Est $400,000 - $600,00 Sold $875,000 inc BP Complimentary Appraisals Discover the value of your artworks and their selling potential at auction by submitting below. Please include the following: A clear image of the artwork(s) Artist name Title and Date of creation Measurements Provenance Certificate of Authenticity, if applicable Complimentary in-person valuations are also available in our Redfern Gallery, or via FaceTime. Please contact us to book an appointment with our Specialists or email us directly at auction@cooeeart.com.au. We appreciate your patience as we receive numerous submissions. Cooee Art conducts complimentary appraisal visits across capital cities and regional areas of Australia. Please subscribe to our mailing list for upcoming dates and events or send a request.

ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Winga (Tidal Movement/Wave), 2023 80 x 150 cm Natural ochres on Belgian Linen $5,500 These works depict the tidal movement of waters in and around the seas and creeks of the Tiwi Islands. Not just influencing fishing and hunting opportunities, the movement of water carries masses of silt and sand, transforming the land and changing the coastal landscape. Winga can also be translated as 'waves', just one part of the changing tides. Tidal surges are at their most powerful when a king tide occurs during the Wet Season, especially during a full moon. Alison has a strong bond to the waters surrounding the Tiwi Islands, forged by a lifetime of memories living encircled within the tides of the Arafura Sea. ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Winga, 2023 123 x 36 cm Natural ochres on Bark $5,000 ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Winga, 2023 83 x 24.5 cm Natural ochres on Bark $2,500 ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Winga, 2023 139 x 44 cm Natural ochres on Bark $7,500 ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Winga, 2023 101 x 24 cm Natural ochres on Bark $3,000 ABOUT ALISON PURUNTATAMERI Alison was born in Pirlangimpi on Melville Island. She grew up in Pirlangimpi and went to the local school. After she completed school she worked in child care.She has one daughter, Anette Orsto known locally as Sugar Plum who is a great favourite at the art centre studio where Alison paints with her mother Paulina (Jedda) Puruntatameri, her partner James Orsto and the other artists. It was Alison’s grandfather, Justin Puruntatameri (deceased) a senior law man who told Alison she should have a go at painting. He knew all the old songs and remembered visits by the Maccassans to the Tiwi Islands when he was a boy. Alison would listen to his stories of his paintings at the art centre and on country. He used to take the family hunting when she was little. He would also take them out bush bashing in his 2 door toyota ute called Black Nose. He used to teach them how to cook wallabies, mussels lots of foods all together under the ground wrapped in paperbark. Alison started painting at Munupi Arts Centre in late 2011. Alison has been a finalist in several prestigious art awards, including the Museum of Contemporary Arts 2014 Primavera Art Award; Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (Telstra NATSIAA)2022; The Alice Prize 2022; and the Art Gallery of South Australia's 2023 Ramsay Art Awards. Alison is represented by Red Dot Fine Art Gallery. NGARUKURUWALA KAPI MURRUKUPUNI - WE SING TO THE LAND 16 November - 9 December 2023 Munupi Arts & Crafts Association is located along Melville Islands North-Western coastline at Pirlangimpi (also known as Garden Point). It is the most recently formed art centre on the Tiwi Islands. The Munupi artists, inspired by their natural lush environment and the Tiwi creation stories, are renowned for their striking approaches to colour and design. Frequently referred to as “Jilamara” (design), their artworks are created using traditional earth ochres, mixed to create a wide range of colours. “Our paintings are like our songs to country, just like when we go to country we call out and sing to our ancestor”. Carol Puruntatameri ( in discussion with Guy Allain) “Ngarukuruwala Kapi Murrukupuni, means ‘we sing to the land’. We do this to invite our ancestral elders to watch over us, and to thank them for the bush food and other traditional plants and materials that we gather and hunt for, including the ochre and bark. When we go to country, we enact Ngarikuruwala Kapi Murrukupuni so that our ancestors know that we are coming, inviting them to guide and protect us. As we leave country, we sing out to the ancestors to thank them and to let them know of our gratitude and knowledge of their presence and wisdom. Our practice of Ngarikuruwala Kapi Murrakupuni is not only transported in the materials gathered to create our bark paintings—it is also intertwined into our images and designs. This is reflected in the stories and meanings that we convey in and through our creative expressions.’’ Paulina Puruntatameri and Carol Puruntatameri ( in discussion with Dashielle Allain)

16 November - 9 December 2023 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. 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. […] 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 - in an introductory statement to Tiwi, Art/Histroy/Culture by Jennifer Isaacs

FAMILY GIVES FULL MARKS FOR ‘SALE FOR THE AGES’ AT COOEE ART LEVEN A clearly delighted Cameron Menzies, acknowledging Cooee Art Leven’s triumphant result immediately following the sale referred to it as ‘One for the Ages’. ‘Rod would have been so very proud of your professional dedication and magnificent achievement’, he told the clearly delighted Cooee staff on behalf of his family. The evening, which began with a touching and heartfelt acknowledgement of country by the Gamillerroi/Wakka Wakka Elder Auntie Shirley Lomas. She spoke of the great pride Indigenous artists derive from their creativity and acknowledged those great collectors like the late Rod Menzies who get such enormous pleasure from living with it. Auctioneer Anita Archer took to the podium in front of a packed audience in Cooee Art Leven’s Redfern Showroom. By the time she dropped the gavel for the final time two hours later, the total value of the sale had exceeded $2,250,000 (incl. BP); one hundred percent of all lots had sold by volume and the action had achieved 128% by value. The cover lot Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Earth’s Creation II (Lot 29), a magnificent maelstrom in swirling blue, white and burgundy, was painted during the same workshop as Earth’s Creation I which still holds the highest record for a work by Australian female artist at public auction, having sold at Cooee Art for $2.1 million in 2017. Though less than half the size of that monumental masterpiece, Earth’s Creation II achieved $700,000 on the hammer ($875,000 incl BP). Other highlights of the sale included, three additional works painted by Kngwarreye in 1994: Lot 31, a black and white version of her Bush Yam series ($100,000); Lot 47, a brooding depiction of her country Alhakere ($68,750); and Lot 40, and a lovely cascade of gold and white linear dotting simply entitled My Country ($137,500). Maggie Napangardi Watson’s masterpiece Digging Stick Dreaming, Lot 28, sold for $125,000; while two works by the founder of the East Kimberley painting movement Rover Thomas also sold well. Lot 39, Cyclone Tracy- Willy Willy, achieved $68,750, and Bullock Hide Story, Lot 35, sold for $87,500. Owner and Director of Cooee Art Leven, Mirri Leven, said: “We were honoured to be entrusted with this special collection. The Rod Menzies collection encompassed many prominent works in the annals of contemporary Australian Indigenous art. We achieved strong results with clients from around the world bidding on these stunning and significant artworks, many of which hold the record price for their respective artists.” Part II of the Indigenous Art Collection from the Rod Menzies estate, will be held in March 2024. About Cooee Art Leven Cooee Art was established in 1981 by Adrian Newstead OAM, Senior Specialist for this auction, and runs a hybrid art model to represent and support artists in an ethical and sustainable way. During the last decade under the guidance of Director Mirri Leven, Cooee Art has undergone a continuous evolution in every facet of the business. Today, in addition to being Australia’s oldest exhibiting Indigenous-focused fine art gallery, its auction wing is a market leader with specialist knowledge, bi-annually curating and consigning the finest Indigenous art from collections across the globe since its establishment in 2017. About Rod Menzies The formidable Rod Menzies, who died in April 2022 aged 76, was possibly the most driven and controversial art auctioneer Australia has ever known. A self-made business magnate, he opened his art auction house in 1998 and went on to reshape the Australian art auction landscape through a combination of panache, art-world savvy, and shrewd business tactics. After partnering with Chris Deutscher in 1998, Deutscher-Menzies outstripped Christie’s and became Sotheby’s biggest rival in Australia within just 3 years. By 2004, D-M was the market leader, turning over $30.1 million compared to Sotheby’s $21.3 million and Christie’s $15 million.

Ngarukuruwala Kapi Murrakupuni - we sing to the land Please join us Thursday 16th of November 6-8pm in welcoming the artists from Munupi Arts, Tiwi Islands Cooee Art Leven, 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern NSW 2016

Indigenous and Oceanic Art Collection Part I Wednesday 8th November 2023 Feature Lot Emily Kame Kngwarreye - Earth's Creation II LOT #29 Emily Kame Kngwarreye (1910 - 1996) Earth's Creation II,1995 synthetic polymer paint on Belgian linen 318 x 251cm (9 panels of varying sizes) EST: $400,000 – 600,000 Emily Kame Kngwarreye was born at Utopia station in a remote desert community almost 300 km north-west of Alice Springs. Before beginning her professional painting career in the late 1980’s, she worked at Utopia as a batik artist for around 10 years. Her career as a painter was as prolific as it was passionate, and after several years she had established herself both locally and internationally. She died in September 1996 leaving behind a remarkable story of inspiration, a profound and invaluable legacy to the art world. Emily went through many different individual styles during her short eight-year career as a professional painter. By the 1990’s early works with intimate tracking and animal prints interspersed with fine dotted colour fields, gave way to running dotted lines over cloud-like ethereal landscapes, and parallel horizontal and vertical stripes, representing ceremonial body painting, in a wide array of colours. Within a year she began using larger brushes than previously and by 1993 she began creating floral images in a profusion of colour by double dipping brushes into layers of paint resulting in variegated petals in hepatic profusion. Her formal body painting line images yielded to the serendipity of scrambling yam roots and, in the final months of her life, to colour fields painted with large flat brushes that are simply brilliant in their assuredness and utter simplicity. While her preoccupation was the life cycle of the Yam in all of its seasonal manifestations and the women’s ceremonies that celebrated its importance and their responsibility as its custodians, Emily painted many interrelated themes and species. In her own words, she painted: ‘Whole lot, that’s all, whole lot, awelye, arlatyeye, ankerrthe, ntange, dingo, ankerre, intekwe, anthwerle and kame. That’s what I paint: whole lot. My Dreaming, pencil yam, mountain devil lizard, grass seed, dingo, emu, small plant emu food, green bean and yam seed.’ In 1995, Fred Torres (Aboriginal art dealer and son of Emily’s niece, Barbara Weir) initiated a workshop on the Utopia clan lands in which Emily created the masterpieces, Earth’s Creation I and Earth’s Creation II. The workshop was held during a period in which Emily was creating wildly colourful canvases by double-dipping brushes into pots of layered paint. Despite her age, Emily’s physicality was evident as she painted. Often with a brush in each hand she simultaneously pounded them down on to the canvas spreading the bristles and leaving the coagulating paint around the neck of the brush to create depth and form. In preparation for this workshop Torres and Weir prepared large canvases by hand-sewing individual panels together in such a way that Emily could paint a single painting that could later be unpicked and stretched onto several interlocking and adjoining frames. Of these, Earth’s Creation I, the major triptych measuring 632 x 275 cm, was included in her touring retrospective exhibition curated by Margo Neale for the Queensland Art Gallery in 1998. The painting was offered for sale in 2017 and sold for $1.056 million. On the request of the National Museum of Australia, Earth’s Creation I was subsequently loaned to tour in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan in 2007, and exhibited at the National Museum in Canberra in 2008. It was exhibited in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Darwin before heading to its new home in Alice Springs. In 2015 the work was exhibited in the Giardini Central Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale,“All the World’s Futures”, curated by Okwui Enwezor. Earth’s Creation I, was subsequently sold at auction in 2017 through Cooee Art for $2.1 million, breaking the record it had set in 2015 for the highest sale price achieved by an Australian female artist. Earth's Creation II, the work on offer here, was painted in the same workshop. The palette is cooler and the overall impression more subdued, yet it lacks none of the spiritual intensity and vision of her larger work. The reduced palette of predominately blue and white, with touches of red, gives the impression of floodwater after rain. From every part of the work, its sublime orchestration engages the eye with dazzling energy and flowing movement. The painting is a luminous celebration with a mystical, ethereal presence. It’s about her life, her story, her country. It’s about her universe and the mythologies that inform the Dreamings. Filled with mystery, it pays reverence to the sacredness of the Earth, the seasons, vegetation, people, the epic adventures of her spiritual ancestors, and ceremonies that she daily engages with in her life. Together, Earth’s Creation I and Earth’s Creation II can be seen as companion pieces. Both works exhibit an assurance in execution that was based upon Kngwarreye’s inseparable link to her country and its ceremonies. Provenance Dacou Gallery, SA Cat No. SS1197158 (A - I) Private Collection, SA Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, NSW, November 2007, Lot No. 60 Menzies Estate Collection, Vic Comprising 9 panels - each panel inscribed verso: SS1197158 (A - I) indicating that this was created during the same special bush workshop during which 'Earth's Creation I' was painted. Accompanied by a copy of a certificate of authenticity from Dacou and 9 images of the artist creating the artwork. Sydney Opening Gala Thursday, November 2nd | 6 - 8pm Cooee Art, 17 Thurlow St, Redfern Viewing November 3rd - 8th | 10 - 6pm Auction Night Wednesday, November 8th | 7pm AEDT

It is hard to put into words our disappointment with last week’s referendum. This shameful result reinforces the echoes of "Terra Nullius", a message that our Indigenous Peoples have heard repeated since Australia was first colonised. Instead of taking a small step toward some kind of healing, Australia has once again rubbed salt in old wounds. As saddened as we are over the No vote, we cannot come close to understanding the pain and disappointed caused to those directly affected by this result. At the end of the ‘week of silence’, we have selected the five works below; all gallery proceeds will be donated to these two charities: The Streets Movement and Tranby. Links to both indigenous owned and operated organisations providing support for First Nations people can be found below. We urge you to contribute however you can. The Streets Movement The Streets Movement is an Indigenous community development organisation which provides programs, pathways and opportunities for the disconnected, forgotten and wayward, helping them re-engage with opportunity, education and community. The Streets Movement works across three continents, building opportunity for youth through education, pathways and empowerment. All our programs and initiatives are designed to create positive pathways, build capacity and opportunity for those whom need it most. All are underpinned by the primary desire to develop strong, connected and proactive communities, with the ethos of “fighting today for a better tomorrow”. Not a fight with fists, but a fight of mentality, determination and the will to build ourselves and our communities. A fight to make a difference, by being strong forces for change and being an example of that which we wish to see in our world. Tranby Tranby is a space for Mob to gather, share stories, and gain further skills and knowledge through community programs, events and accredited training. Our campus spans past, present and future, from the historic buildings, through architect designed facilities that reflect the flow of water, to virtual training spaces. Our people have lived on the Australian continent for at least 65,000 years, and for more than 65 years, Tranby has been a place of community connection, Aboriginal-controlled education and social action for Indigenous peoples. We are Australia’s oldest independent Indigenous education provider. As an Aboriginal-led Co-operative, our community is involved in everything we do, and guides how and why we do things. Since 1957 we’ve provided life changing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, supporting them to find their power through education.

Wednesday 8th November, 2023 at 7 PM AEDT Melbourne Viewing October 26th & 27th FIN Gallery, 437 High St Prahran, Vic RSVP Sydney Opening Gala Thursday, November 2nd | 6 - 8pm Cooee Art Leven, 17 Thurlow St, Redfern RSVP Viewing November 3rd - 8th | 10 - 6pm Auction Night Wednesday, November 8th | 7pm AEDT View more details about THE ROD MENZIES ESTATE - INDIGENOUS AND OCEANIC ART COLLECTION PART I

Everett Leven Sterneborg, 9.8.2023 With both of his parents working in the industry, (gallery owner Mirri Leven and Sam Sterneborg) Everett has been around art ever since he was born. He loves farm animals and high contrast black and white paintings. The first ever artwork to join his collection is by Cooee Art Leven favourite Conway Ginger. Thank you Emma and Hayley and thank you to Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists! Couldn’t be happier to have you with us, Everett!. CONWAY GINGER BULLDOG AND WEST COAST, 2020 21 x 29.5 cm Watercolour and Pen on Paper $330 REGION Docker River, NT Conway Ginger hails from Docker River and moved to Alice Springs in 2004. He is an active young man, who is a passionate football supporter, music lover and an eager artist. Conway’s wonderful sense of humour is evident within his artwork, fresh and vivid lines communicate his passions and inspirations that are drawn from everyday life. Showing great confidence with ink and wash, Conway’s work continues to flourish and expand with every brushstroke. It is an exciting time for Conway as an emerging artist, whose expanding body of work progresses through new techniques and artistic mediums such as watercolours, fabric, textiles and print-making. CONWAY GINGER MOTOR BIKE, 2016 17 x 23.5 cm Watercolour and Pen on Paper $260 REGION Docker River, NT KITTY NAPANANGKA SIMON MINA MINA JUKURRPA (MINA MINA DREAMING), 2023 30 x 80 cm Synthetic Polymer Paint on Belgian Linen $2,000 REGION Lajamanu, NT Mina Mina is near Lake Mackay. It's main dreaming story is the karrpanu, the digging stick, famously recorded in the Kanakurlangu clan group dreaming songline. Warlpiri call that songline, yupunju. The women travelled eastward into Anmatyerre tribe lands in the Jukurrpa, by being, the sky and earth, night and day women created or gave birth to almost everything bringing them into existence. From raining clouds, waterholes, waterways, everything was danced and sung into existence. Then everything was left to be dug up with the karrpanu so one could feed on the knowledge about everything within the Warlpiri homelands. The ultimate karrpanu is the pointer stars near the Southern Cross stars. When the pointer star touches down in the horizon then the Warlpiri learning cycle begins again.