Running from February 28th until July 26th, the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection presents ‘Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara’ (My Country and Art), showcasing the continuity and change central to Tiwi art and culture. Artist and curator Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni displays old and new works together to tell stories about family connection, Country, and culture.
Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni, Ngiya Murrakupupuni, 2024, locally sourced ochre on linen, 120 x 200 cm, (detail) © The artist and Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association, Photo courtesy of Kluge-Ruhe
Michelle Woody is a Tiwi artist from Milikapiti, a small community situated on Melville Island, located off the northern coast of Australia’s Northern Territory. Woody sources natural pigments from sacred locations on Murrakupupuni, which she then grinds and hand-mixes. She applies the paint across the surface of her barks and canvases with a pwoja (ironwood comb), resulting in distinctive dotted patterns.
Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni with Marriwiyi (Pandanus skirt) and Ngiya Murrakupupuni (My Country), 2020, (detail) © The artist and Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association. Photo by Will Heathcote.
While traditionally used in Tiwi body painting for ceremony, Woody uses the pwoja to create contemporary representations of her homeland in striking bands of white, yellow, and red.
