"Mamu Tjukurpa" Blown glass vessel, with design painted by Angela Watson of Ninuku Arts 

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Angela Watson

Angela Watson was born in 1966 in Warburton, a remote community in Western Australia. As a young child, Angela and her family relocated to Pipalyatjara, where she continues to live today. In the early 2000s, the first Aboriginal art studios were set up in the western region of the APY Lands. It was during this time that Angela started her arts practice. Her artworks draw influence from ‘tjukurpa’ (traditional stories), particularly those of ‘Minyma Kutjara’ (Two Women Dreaming) and the Mamu Tjukurpa (Spirits Tjukurpa). They are both important stories from her father’s country, Irrunytju, which lies just over the border from Pipalyatjara in Western Australia. The ‘Minyma Kutjara’ story tells of two women travelling alone who are looking for fresh ‘kapi’ (water). Along their travels they have to escape the advances of a ‘wati’ (man) who stalks them. Angela’s paintings frequently show the path and camps from their journey across the lands, as well as the night-time constellations of the Milky Way that lays above. The Mamu Tjukurpa tells the story of Alkuwari who had to travel a long distance to get food for her tjamu's (grandfather and grandson). In her absence, the boy sets the wiltja on fire where the old man is hidden. Alkuwari rushes back and calls her family to find the boy. They become the Mamu spirits of the six Mamu rockholes, to the South of Irrunytju. She works with bold, graphic colour palettes and is notable in her use of both contemporary techniques and composition to tell the traditional story.

Ninuku Arts

Ninuku Arts is an Indigenous Arts centre located in the remote community of Kalka in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, near the tri-state border of South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Since 2019, Ninuku Arts has collaborated with JamFactory’s Glass Studio to create exquisite handcrafted glass vessels that blend contemporary glassmaking techniques with traditional Indigenous designs.

ABOUT THE 'WALKA WIRU: NINUKU TJUKURPA – LOVELY COUNTRY: NINUKU STORIES' EXHIBITION:

Artists from Ninuku Arts, an Indigenous Arts centre located in the remote community of Kalka in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands, collaborate with JamFactory’s Glass Studio to create unique glass vessels featuring the artists hand painted bold designs.

Presented in conjunction with Chihuly in the Botanic Garden.

PRODUCT DETAILS:

Materials: glass, high-fire enamel
Dimensions: 270 x 210
Catalogue #: 23-249

Due to the handmade nature of the products dimensions may vary on individual pieces.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PIECE IS ON DISPLAY AS PART OF THE 'WALKA WIRU: NINUKU TJUKURPA – LOVELY COUNTRY: NINUKU STORIES' EXHIBITION 

THE EXHIBITION RUNS UNTIL JANUARY 12th, 2025. ANY SOLD WORK WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COLLECTION OR DELIVERY MID-LATE JANUARY 2025.

Purchases from our shops directly support individual artists as well as our unique exhibition and training programs.

Handmade in Australia.