Keturah Zimran, Puli Puli - Rocks, 121x101cm

In this work, Keturah depicts the natural rock formations (puli) found in and around Haasts Bluff.

Keturah is the youngest daughter of Molly Napaltjarri Jugadai and the wife of emerging Ikuntji male artist Billy Pareroultja.

Her grandmother was the founding artist of Ikuntji Artists, Narputta Nangala Jugadai. On her father’s side Uta Uta Tjangala – father to Alice Nampitjinpa and one of the founding members of the acrylic painting movement – was her grandfather’s brother and Yuyuyai Nampitjinpa was the older sister to her father Smithy Tjampitjinpa. Thus she comes from a long lineage of artists.

She has been painting for 8 years but as she has a young family of 7 young children so paints whenever she gets a spare moment.

This is her life story in her own words:
I was born here and grew up here. I stay here a long time, Ikuntji is my home. My mother is from here my father is from Kintore. He is in the graveyard near the church.
When I was little I would watch my grandmother and mother paint. It was when I was young I realized I wanted to paint. I started painting in 2005 and my brother paints as well. He paints waru, bush fire Dreaming.
I paint about the sand hills my mother also painted about the sand hills and the Napaltjarri sisters.
I have my own family now. I have seven children. I have two granddaughters and two grandsons. My husband is also a painter. He paints about his grandfather’s country: Lake Mackay.
I like to paint; painting helps me forget my troubles. I paint every day.
My Grandmother used to say to me when I was younger: “One day you will paint.”
She told me to not go wrongly and to look after myself and go strong.
When I look at my paintings I feel happy. My mother and I were closer when I was painting; I wish to be always able to paint.
When I was eight we went to Lake Karrkurrutingtja, we walked around the lake, I remember playing with the white sand and then we all went swimming. Joe Multa and Timmy Jugadai came looking for us at night.
The sand hills I paint are my mother’s story and the rocks I paint are my own story. My paintings are about my story and my mother’s.
Jeffery is my other brother he plays in a band and is also a painter. I am proud of my brothers.
Originally we grew up on my father’s side in Kintore. Then, when I was ten we moved here and I grew up with my grandmother. My mother joined us in 1985, a long time later.
When I was in Kintore, I went to school where my father worked in the office he was also a church person. He was a pastor and looked after people. He moved to Alice Springs when he got sick. When I was a baby he gave me my name from the bible, I was born on the 26th of June. My name comes from the bible and it’s the name of Abraham’s wife. My mother worked in the Clinic as a Health worker.

A lot of stories are still being recounted of long journeys of people from various language groups, who travelled from rockholes and waterholes to caves and mountains finally arriving at Haasts Bluff. The locals, Luritja people of Haasts Bluff, were already here. Thus Haasts Bluff is a community rich of diversity in language and culture.

Ikuntji Artists was first established in 1992, after a series of workshops with Melbourne artist Marina Strocchi, and under the influence of the then community president, the late Esther Jugadai. The art centre was initially set up to fulfil the role of women’s centre providing services such as catering for old people and children in the community. After first experiences made in printing T-shirts, the artists began producing acrylic paintings on linen and handmade paper, which quickly gained the attention of the Australian and international art world as well as earning the centre an impressive reputation for fine art. The focus changed from a women’s centre to an art centre in 2005 with the incorporation of the art centre as Ikuntji Artists Aboriginal Corporation.

The artists draw their inspiration from their personal ngurra (country) and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming). They interpret the ancestral stories by using traditional symbols, icons and motifs. The artistic repertoire of Ikuntji Artists is diverse and includes for example: naive as well as highly abstract paintings told by each artist in their personal signature style. Throughout the 21 years of its existence the art movement in Ikuntji has flourished and constantly left its mark in the fine art world. At the same time the art centre has been the cultural hub of the community, maintaining, reinforcing and reinvigorating cultural practices through art-making.

Today Ikuntji Artists has eight key artists, who exhibit in Australia and internationally. They are represented in major collections across the globe.

Text: Melanie Greiner, Alison Multa and Dr Chrischona Schmidt