NGURRA-KURLU

18 February - 11 March

Warnayaka Art Centre is located in Lajamanu in the Tanami Desert and is 580kms south west of Katherine, Northern Territory. The title of the exhibition, Ngurra-kurlu, 'is a representation of the five key elements of Warlpiri culture: Land (also called Country), Law, Language, Ceremony, and Skin (also called Kinship). It is a concept that highlights the primary relationships between these elements, while also creating an awareness of their deeper complexities. Wanta Jampinjinpa Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu explains: If the skin name is not strong, if we don’t use it according to our marriage system law, marrying to the wrong skin group, these others will not be strong as well. Even our language - if it is not strong the other four principles will not function well too. This one too, the law; if we become lawless, both the country and yapa will become sick. And this one as well, ceremony; if we don’t respect our ceremonies and the rituals that belong to skin groups we will become sick and the country will become sick as well. If we disrespect the land we will forget what the land is trying to say. We will disappear as Warlpiri people.' (Pawu-Kurlpurlurnu W J, Holmes M and Box L. 2008. ‘Ngurra-kurlu: A way of working with Warlpiri people’, DKCRC Report 41. Desert Knowledge CRC, Alice Springs.)

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