Tiwi Islands and Top End

Situated on the north-west of Melville Island, 100 km from Darwin, Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association has been representing Tiwi artists at Milikapiti since 1989. An Indigenous owned enterprise, the Association supports ongoing exhibitions at public and private galleries, and projects in community development and cultural maintenance.

The Pukamani funeral ceremony is an important rite in Tiwi cultural practice and informs much of their distinctive work. The Tiwi word Jilamara, refers to the intricate ochre patterns applied to the bodies of dancers and carved poles during this ceremony.

Artists from Jilamara work with natural ochres on paper or carved work as seen in the open styles of Conrad Tipungwuti and 2012 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award winner, Timothy Cook, to the more tightly defined patterning of Pedro Wonaeamirri and Raelene Kerinauia.

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