- Title: Pamajini – Armbands (228-13)
- Artist: Jane Tipuamantumirri
- Region: Tiwi Islands
- Art Centre: Ngaruwanajirri Inc
- Medium: Ochre on paper
- Collection:
- Dimensions: 76 x 56 cm
- Edition Size: Unique
- Price ($AUD): $ 740
Artwork Story
Pamajini – Armbands by Jane M Tipuamantumirri was painted at the Ngaruwanajirri Keeping House in 2012 with natural ochres with a binder on 640 gsm Arches paper.
During the Pukumani (funeral) ceremony, participants are painted with white ochre and wear pamajini (armbands) made from pandanus and decorated with white feathers to express their grief through song and dance. Belongings of the deceased are placed on the grave and the poles are placed around it. At the end of the ceremony tunga, painted bark baskets, are placed on top of the poles to signify the conclusion of the ceremony.
Jane Tipuamantumirri from Wurrumiyanga on Bathurst Island portrays aspects of Tiwi life ranging from ceremonial images to fish and birds. These spontaneous natural ochres on paper feature quirky and imaginative imagery and design.
Ngaruwanajirri (meaning helping one another in Tiwi) was established in 1994 as a cooperative to support local Tiwi artists with disability and to provide employment for people at Wurrumiyanga (formally Nguiu), in the Northern Australia. The artists work in a wonderful open and airy workspace called the ‘Keeping House’.
Ngaruwanajirri artists create highly individual works in a range of different art forms including batik on silk for silk scarves, lino block design and printing on fabric, ironwood carving, water colour and acrylics on paper and natural ochres on paper and canvas.
The natural ochres (white and yellow) are collected from two beaches on Bathurst Island and burning the yellow ochre over a fire produces a third colour, red. These colours are still used by the Tiwi in different ceremonies and cultural events on both Melville and Bathurst Island (the Tiwi Islands).
Art from Ngaruwanajirri has been exhibited in galleries throughout Australia and are held in public and private collections nationally.
© Ngaruwanajirri Inc