Ngiya Murrakupupuniamintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art) by Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni will be exhibited by STATION in collaboration with Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association, opening Saturday.
Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni is a Tiwi artist from Milikapiti, a small community situated on Melville Island, located off the northern coast of Australia's Northern Territory.
In this exhibition her work expresses important Tiwi creation stories and representations of Murrakupupuni (Country) using jilamara/designs rooted in the long-standing practices of her ancestors.
She sources natural pigments from sacred locations on Murrakupupuni, which she then grinds and hand mixes. While typically used in Tiwi body painting for ceremony, she uses the pwoja (ironwood comb) to create contemporary representations of her homeland in striking bands of white, yellow, and red.
She applies the kayimwagakimi in her own distinct style, angling the tool and layering pigment to build movement and texture across the surface. Through this approach she captures the essence of her island home, revealing a sense of Tiwi culture that is uniquely hers.
This exhibition follows on from Michelle Pulatuwayu Woody Minnapinni's recent residency and solo exhibition, Ngiya Murrakupupuni amintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art), 2026, at the University of Virginia's Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection.
Ngiya Murrakupupuniamintiya Jilamara (My Country and Art) opens Saturday, 1 August, and closes 12 September, at STATION, Naarm / Melbourne.
The exhibition catalogue can be requested online.
