- Title: Jilamara (12/11)
- Artist: Maria Josette Orsto
- Region: Tiwi Islands
- Art Centre: Tiwi Design
- Medium: Etching
- Collection:
- Dimensions: 98.2 x 24.8 cm
- Edition Size: 40
- Price ($AUD): $ 660
Artwork Story
Jilamara is the Tiwi word used to describe body paint designs. These designs are painted onto the body during Pukumani and Kulama ceremonies.
Pukumani is a Tiwi funeral ceremony and Kulama is an annual ceremony celebrating life and abundance. Kulama is a yam that emerges after the heavy rains. Traditionally, every line and every dot painted onto the body, on pukumani poles and bark baskets was a visual language which the Tiwi interpreted and understood.
© Maria Josette Orsto, c/o Tiwi Design