Lisa Multa, Tali at Kungkayunti, 122x46cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Lisa Multa
• Community - Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) 
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Ikuntji Artists
• Catalogue number - 20-LM6
• Materials - Acrylic on linen
• Size(cm) - H122 W46 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

This painting shows the sandhills (tali tali) at Kungkayunti (Brown's Bore). Kungkayunti is the place where the ancestral women are dancing along the creek bed.

Lisa Multa is the younger sister to Traditional Owner and lawman Douglas Multa, acclaimed artist Alison Multa and painter Patricia Multa. Lisa grew up with her family at Kungkayunti (Browns Bore), an outstation 1.5hrs drive, southwest of Haasts Bluff. Lisa was born at Papunya Clinic in 1975, the closest clinic to Kungkayunti at the time. Kungkayunti is the country of Lisa’s father, Joe Tjakamarra Multa and her mother, Magdelena Multa Napaltjarri, is from Haasts Bluff. When Lisa was a baby she lived with her aunt and uncle, Maudie and Phillip Lane, in Haasts Bluff so that her mother could care for her younger sister, Benita. When Benita and herself were a bit older they moved with their parents to Kungkayunti, travelling back and forth to attend primary school at Haasts Bluff. Lisa then attended and boarded at Yirara College in Alice Springs. After her studies there she then returned to Haasts Bluff.

Lisa also lived at Kintore for some time, where she raised her three children. After returning to Haasts bluff in 2007, Lisa saw her two older sisters painting at the Ikuntji Arts Centre and began painting herself. Lisa has worked at the local Kanparrka store for many years; she remembers when the store was in the old building. Although the sisters sometimes paint together, Lisa says when she paints she likes to think of her own connection to country, focusing on a birds eye view of the tali tali (sandhills) at Kungkayunti, which she expresses in a variety of colours.

Lisa successfully completed a Certificate I in Visual Arts at Batchelor Institute in 2018, where she studied and practiced fabric design, screen printing and visual design. Recently she has also been recognised as a certified translator. In August 2018, Lisa travelled for the first time with Ikuntji Artists to the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair.

Lisa is very busy in the community, amongst working in the store, doing translating work at Ikuntji Artists and spending time with family, she still finds time to paint when she can.

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