- Title: Pamajini (Armbands) JMTT-256-15
- Artist: Jane M Tipuamantumirra
- Region: Tiwi Islands
- Art Centre: Ngaruwanajirri Inc
- Medium: Ochre on paper
- Collection:
- Dimensions: 38.5 x 57.5 cm
- Edition Size: Unique
- Price ($AUD): $ 545
Artwork Story
Jane has been painting with the Ngaruwanajirri group since the inception of the centre in 1994. Jane draws subject matter from her Tiwi culture and surrounds including mud mussels, magpie goose, shark, fish, tunga (bark basket), Tokwampini, (ancestral bird) and pamajini (arm band for ceremony).
All jilamara (design) are originally drawn from the body painting which accompanied the pukumani (funeral) and kulama (initiation/yam) ceremonies. An individual design and aesthetic is highly valued by Tiwi artists and is representative of their personal interpretation of the traditional Tiwi design or jilamara.
Ngaruwanajirri was established in 1994 to support local Tiwi artists with disabilities and to provide employment for people at Nguiu on Bathurst Island in the Northern Territory. Ngaruwanajirri is a Tiwi word that means ‘helping one another’.
The Ngaruwanajirri artists create works using local ochre and natural pigments on paper, canvas and carvings. They also produce carvings, monotype prints and watercolour paintings.
Works from the Ngaruwanajirri Arts Centre have been selected for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Art Award (Telstra Award) and have travelled in touring exhibitions throughout Australia and overseas. Works from Ngaruwanajirri are held in public institutions and in many private collections across Australia.
© Ngaruwanajirri Inc