Milatjari Pumani facts for kids

Milatjari Pumani (born 1928) is an important Aboriginal Australian artist. She comes from a place called Mimili in South Australia. Many people know her as one of the most famous artists from her community. She was the first artist to bring a lot of success to the Mimili Maku art centre. Her oldest daughter, Ngupulya, is also a well-known painter.

Milatjari's Early Life

Milatjari was born in 1928. She was born in the Australian bush, in the north-western part of South Australia. Her birthplace was Amuroona, which was a cattle station. This area is now between the communities of Indulkana and Mimili.

When she was a young girl, her family met stockmen near a waterhole called Victory Well. After this, her family moved to live and work at the cattle station, which was then called Everard Park. Milatjari's father was Nyapi "King" Everard and her mother was Mantjangka Everard. The name "Everard" was given to them. Milatjari met her husband, Sam Pumani, in Mimili. They had five children together: Ngupulya, Betty, Ken, Michael, and Lewey.

Her Journey as an Artist

Before she started painting, Milatjari made traditional designs. She used a method called pokerwork on wooden blocks. She would also teach this method to younger people.

Milatjari did not begin painting until 2008, when she was about 80 years old. She painted for her community's art centre, Mimili Maku. Her first paintings were shown in Alice Springs later that year. This was at a special art show called "Desert Mob." She also showed her art at this exhibition in 2009 and 2010. Each time, she was seen as the most successful artist from Mimili.

In 2009, she had her own art show in Adelaide. She was also chosen as a finalist for the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2010 and 2011. This is a very important award for Indigenous artists. The Art Gallery of South Australia bought one of her paintings. Several other paintings are kept in the National Gallery of Victoria.

What Milatjari Paints

Milatjari paints stories from the Maku Tjukurpa. This is the Dreaming (which means the spiritual beliefs and stories) connected to the land around Mimili. A place called Antara, which is near Mimili, appears in almost all her paintings.

Antara is her uncle's traditional country. When Milatjari was young, her family often went there to hunt and gather food. She, her mother, and her sister would dig for witchetty grubs (called maku). Her father and brothers would go hunting. Because of this, her paintings are often called Antara or Ngura Walytja (which means "family's country").

Milatjari uses earthy colours, like browns and reds, on a dark background. This helps her show the landscape of Antara. She paints figures and stories from the Maku Tjukurpa using many small dots. Her unique style and painting methods have inspired many younger artists at Mimili Maku. This includes her daughter Ngupulya and another artist named Tuppy Ngintja Goodwin.