A Broad Brushstroke

An exhibition at the NGV of the extraordinary artworks of Kitty Kantilla reveals Melville Islands rich cultural tapestry, writes Ashley Crawford.

MANY AUSTRALIANS believe there is a single Aboriginal "culture" and ignore the remarkable array of different cultural groups that exist around the continent. There are many different nations, languages, religions, cuisines and forms of artistic expression that represent a remarkably diverse people, a fact that is hammered home by the unique creative outpouring of an artist like Kitty Kantilla.

Kantilla was born circa 1928 on Melville Island and died in 2003. She was renowned for her regal bearing and her intolerance for "humbug", thus her nickname, Queen of Jilamara. She was also dubbed "Dot Dot" via her technique and was renowned for her meticulous approach to her work.

As the curator of an exhibition of Kantillas works at the NGV, Judith Ryan, writes in her catalogue essay: "Those who watched Kantilla working at Jilamara art centre . . . could not fail to notice how deliberately she adjusted her marlipinyini (fine stick of coconut palm frond chewed to form a brush), flicking off the excess pigment to ensure that it contained exactly the right amount to make each dot distinct and beautiful."

Felicity Green, who worked as manager of Jilamara Arts & Craft Association, where Kantilla worked, in the 1990s, says: "She was feisty and God bless her for it. She was a woman who knew her mind and her importance and was not afraid to remind people of this. Yes, we occasionally clashed - usually over money or some other material need, but she knew I was a soft touch and that most times she would get what she wanted. She was also extremely fair and never requested anything unreasonable. Our clashes almost always ended in laughter at each other."

Ryan describes Kantilla as a "guiding light" when it comes to an artists career. "She only worked through Jilamara Arts & Craft and only had a small number of individual exhibitions, but she is still represented in all of the major collections including the Musee du quai Branly in Paris, the British Museum in London and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

"The point is that she is a model of an artist to follow. She didnt paint a bad painting."

Printmaker Martin King, who has travelled extensively through the centre and top end of Australia to work with Aboriginal artists and create his own artworks, says Melville Island is "culturally different from the mainland". And, he says, Tiwi art is also different from much mainland art.

"The word Jilamara, which is the name of the art centre, essentially means decoration and refers to body painting and other decorative elements of ritual; its actually very formal. Unlike the work from the Centre, for example, it doesnt have a literal narrative.

"Melville Island is more of an island culture. They had a lot more interaction with the Macassan traders from Indonesia, so the arrival of the white fellas had somewhat less impact. Theyve also remained on their own land and not been dispossessed as the people on the mainland were."

Green agrees: "Yes, distance and being surrounded by a body of water definitely contributed to the comparatively stress-free introduction to the white folk," she says. "The Tiwi also had a reputation for defending their country and thus tended to be left alone. Fort Dundas was set up as an outpost in 1824 and was soon abandoned because of hostility from the Tiwi. It was not until the 1880s that white fellas returned.

"The missionaries were in part responsible for trying to stop some cultural practices and [especially] frowned on polygamy. But on the whole the Tiwi didnt lose their land or their language."

As Ryan concludes in her catalogue essay for the exhibition: "Kittys skin group was rain, her dance was fire: two elements of water and fire that are delicately balanced in her work. Her dots, as steady as gentle rain, form a constant rhythm of detailed marks against which dynamic bursts of big colour, fire, provide moments of intensity. Also in her compositions, elements of earth (natural ochres) and air (negative space) are powerful presences that contribute to the wholeness of each work, making her No. 1, Dot Dot, the Queen of Jilamara . . ."

The complexity of Aboriginal work is vast. On any given day there is a plethora of work being exhibited, some of it of the highest quality, at other times utter rubbish. The difficulty for viewers, and especially aspiring collectors, is to choose from the multiple galleries that are exhibiting indigenous art.

Ryan says the best advice for would-be collectors is to examine the provenance of the artists works.

"That is the philosophy that we have at the National Gallery," she says: "We essentially only look at work that has come from Aboriginal-owned art centres."

This is also the approach usually taken by the galleries that are members of the Australian Commercial Galleries Association, which maintains rigorous standards for membership. Victorian galleries that are members of the association and exhibit Aboriginal art include Alcaston Gallery, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Mossenson Galleries, Nellie Castan Gallery, Niagara Galleries and William Mora Galleries.

Alcaston Gallery is also featuring Tiwi work with the exhibition Ngarramukuriyi Jilamara Kartukuni (painting designs on ironwood). The show features carved ironwood birds, Pukumani poles and bronze sculptures by carvers Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri, Pius Tipungwuti and Glen Farmer Illortaminni.

The range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art shown is extraordinarily diverse, sourced from such areas as the Kimberley, Central and Western Desert regions, Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands. There are also many powerful urban-based indigenous artists such as Brook Andrew, who has a stunning survey show at the Monash University Museum of Modern Art.

Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi is showing yet another artist who has found a new approach to her indigenous roots with Lorraine Connelly-Northeys Possum Skin Cloaks and Narrbongs.

Connelly-Northey was born in Swan Hill and is of Waradgerie descent on her mothers side and Irish descent on her fathers side. This heritage of mixed cultures strongly influences Connelly-Northeys work. During her travels through the Mallee bush with her father she would explore old rubbish dumps, seeking out hidden treasures and items of interest. This was no doubt a skill her father acquired from his Irish farming father - from a piece of discarded material could be found another use.

In Connelly-Northeys hands, the forms of traditional Aboriginal artefacts are created through the use of rustic metal wires, mesh and corrugated iron. The startling results are imbued with both tradition and humour.

William Mora Galleries, which is showing Jan Billycan from the Bidyadanga community with his exuberant show, Kirriwirri, has scored a booth at the inaugural Cornice Art Fair, timed to coincide with the Venice Biennale. Critics have claimed that the fair is a cynical bid to tap into the massive international audience the Biennale attracts, but that hasnt stopped some of the worlds most prestigious galleries from queuing up. Mora is the only Australian gallery to have been accepted and, jumping on the intense interest in contemporary Aboriginal art in Europe, he will be showing works by John Mawurndjul and the ailing Paddy Bedford.

The opening of former French president Jacques Chiracs brainchild, the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, gave pride of place to Australian Aboriginal art. Located beneath the Eiffel Tower on the banks of the Seine, the new museum is devoted to ethnographic arts from around the world. But a major feature of the opening was the work of eight of Australias most prominent Aboriginal artists.

There was, of course, a degree of irony in the prestigious treatment given these artists. Much has been written about the poor living standards of Australias indigenous people, yet they were, not for the first time, acting as Australias cultural ambassadors abroad.

Carefully selected by curators Hetti Perkins and Brenda L. Croft, the artists included: John Mawurndjul of the Kuninjku people and Gulumbu Yunupingu from the Gumatj Yolngu people of Arnhem Land; Lena Nyadbi and Paddy Bedford from the Kija people of the Kimberley; the Brisbane-based Judy Watson from the Waanyi people; Michael Riley of the Waradgerie people of NSW; Tommy Watson of the Pitjantjatjara people; and Ningura Napurrula of the Pintupi people of the Western Desert.

Much of the early recognition of the innovative approach of contemporary Aboriginal art began with the establishment of the Papunya Tula Artists Co-operative in Alice Springs in 1971. Tim and Vivien Johnson had curated Papunya Tula: Aboriginal Art of the Western Desert at Sydneys Macquarie University Library in 1980. In 1990 Rover Thomas represented Australia at the Venice Biennale. But the irony remains that it wasnt until the Mabo decision of 1992 that the High Court of Australia recognised the legal existence of a group of Australians whose culture had already impacted on the world.

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