Celebrating the Tracks We Share
Juluwarlu Art Group | Artist Talk
Hear Juluwarlu Art Group artists discuss their multi-disciplinary practice, including the Yarranga Marni, video work Ngundamurri, traditional artefacts, works on paper, and paintings created for the exhibition.
Yinjaa-Barni Art | Artist Talk
Walk through part of the Tracks We Share: Contemporary Art of the Pilbara space with artists from Yinjaa-Barni Art as they discuss their exhibited works which convey the wildflowers, river systems and landforms of Yindjibarndi Country, including Aileen Sandy’s monumental work Pilbara Rocks.
Martumili Artists | Artist Talk
Join Martumili Artists as they discuss the stunning works which comprise their contribution to Tracks We Share: Contemporary Art of the Pilbara. The bright acrylic paintings that feature in the exhibition and for which Martumili artists are known reflect the dramatic geography and scale of their homelands in the Western Desert regions.
Artefact Making with Wayne Stevens | Demonstration
Join us for this artefact-making demonstration led by birlagurda (craftsman) Wayne Stevens from Juluwarlu Art Group who will share stories while he demonstrates the process for making the traditional Yindjibarndi artefacts featured in Tracks We Share. The Jarnyjin (dancing sticks) and Nhurnda Gundu (masks) on display in Gallery 5 are used in traditional Yindjibarndi ceremonies.
The Politics of Canvas: Martu Collaboration
The large-scale Kintyre artwork, stretching five metres across and three metres tall, forms a centrepiece of Tracks We Share and is a result of collaboration between 23 Martu artists who worked on it across several years and locations. It references Karlamilyi, an area of remote Martu Country where the Great Sandy and Little Sandy deserts intersect and the contested site of a uranium mining lease stands. Painted as an act of protest, the work affirms connection to and care of Country and is a call for the site to be returned to its Traditional Owners. Join representatives from Martumili Artists as they discuss the work itself, the processes of kujungka (working together) and marlpa (companionship), and the significance of this work as a political statement.
Spinifex Hill Studio | Artist Talk
Listen to artists from Port Hedland’s Spinifex Hill Studio as they talk you through their artistic practice and exhibited works which often draw inspiration from Pilbara town life, reflect the region’s diverse cultural mix, and echo historical events.
Scratchboard Etching Workshop
Join Wendy Hubert and Alice Guiness as they guide you through the practice of cross-hatching, line and pattern-making to create your own scratchboard etching. These techniques echo traditional Yindjibarndi rock art petroglyphs and are on display in Jane’s Ngarluwanyji (Native Water Chestnuts) work in Tracks We Share.
Participating Art Centres
Cheeditha Art Group
Cheeditha is a small Aboriginal community not far from Yirramagardu (Ieramugadu, Roebourne) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was established in the 1970s by a group of Elders who camped in the old woolshed buildings of Mt Welcome Station, just south of Roebourne. In 1985, with the assistance of the Western Australian Government, houses were built and the community has grown to around 60 people.
Juluwarlu Art Group
Juluwarlu Art Group is part of Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal-owned organisation dedicated to preserving, recording, and promoting the culture of Yindjibarndi people. Based in Roebourne, Juluwarlu provides significant support and services to artists of all ages, enabling them to develop skills, share their artworks and stories, and earn an income through the expression and maintenance of their culture.
Martumili Artists
Martumili Artists was established by Martu people in 2006. Based in Parnpajinya’s (Newman’s) East Pilbara Arts Centre, the art centre supports artists in the remote communities of Kunawarritji, Punmu, Parnnguyrr, Jigalong, Warralong, and Irrungadji, as well as Newman. The artists and their families are the traditional custodians of vast stretches of the Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts, as well as the Karlamilyi (Rudall River) area.
Spinifex Hill Studio
Spinifex Hill Studio stands on Kariyarra Country in South Hedland and is home to one of the most recently-formed Aboriginal art collectives in the north-west of Australia, Spinifex Hill Artists. Presenting contemporary art which covers a breadth of styles, the Studio has always attracted and worked with artists from many different languages groups, including Kariyarra, Nyamal, Banyjima, Nyiyaparli, Yindjibarndi, Noongar, Ngarla, Manyjilyjarra, Warnman, Kartujarra, and Nyangumarta.
Yinjaa-Barni Art
Yinjaa-Barni artists began painting at Roebourne’s Pilbara Aboriginal Church in 2004, before moving to the heritage-listed Dalgety House on the banks of the Harding River where they are still based. The art centre is nationally renowned for its artists’ intricately-patterned aesthetic, which celebrates the breathtaking natural beauty of Yindjibarndi Country.
Helpful Hints
The Gallery will be open from 10am-5pm
Tracks We Share: Contemporary Art of the Pilbara will be open from 10am with last entry at 4.45pm
Admission to the Gallery is free however, donations are always welcomed
Leave your large bags and coats at the cloakroom
No food or drink is allowed in the exhibition galleries
Photography with handheld devices for personal use is welcome (no tripods, selfie sticks or flashes)
Take a train or bus to the Gallery, click here for more information.
Wendy Hubert Thalarut Pool, Pannawonica 2021. Acrylic on watercolour paper, 760 x 570mm. Image courtesy of Wendy Hubert (Juluwarlu Art Group).
Allery Sandy Marni 2021. Acrylic on canvas, 1160 x 1790mm. Image courtesy of Allery Sandy (Yinjaa-Barni Art).
Jatarr Lily Long and Wurta Amy French Karlamilyi (Rudall River area) 2010. Acrylic on linen, 3000 x 5000mm. Image courtesy of Jatarr Lily Long and Wurta Amy French (Martumili Artists).
Wayne Stevens Nhurnda Gundu (Corroboree Mask) 2021. Acrylic painted wooden mask, 430 x 230mm. Image courtesy of Wayne Stevens (Juluwarlu Art Group).
Martumili Artists Kintyre 2020 – 2021. Acrylic on canvas, 5000 x 3000mm. Image courtesy of Martumili Artists.
Nyangulya Katie Nalgood Serious White Cockatoo 2020. Acrylic on canvas, 610 x 610mm. Image courtesy of Nyangulya Katie Nalgood (Spinifex Hill Studio).
Jane Cheedy Ngarluwanyji (Native Water Chestnuts) 2021. Etching on scratchboard, 406 x 508mm. Image courtesy of Jane Cheedy (Juluwarlu Art Group).
Alice Guiness Burndud Ground 2021. Acrylic on watercolour paper, 1070 x 1070mm. Image courtesy of Alice Guiness (Juluwarlu Art Group).
