Munupi Arts and Crafts Association is located on Melville Island (Milikapiti), which lies in the Arafura Sea north of Darwin. The art of the people (Tiwi ) is based largely on ‘Jilamara’, a term used to describe design and the art of body painting for ceremony.

Jilamara designs are translated by Tiwi artists into paintings on canvas and paper, tunga (bark baskets) and carvings, in particular carved ironwood poles related to the Pukamani ceremony. The ceremony involves mortuary rites for which large totemic poles are commissioned, carved and painted by relatives of the deceased. The size and scale of the poles, as well as the designs with which they are adorned, are reflective of the status and kinship relations of the person for whom they are made.

Carved and painted birds are also a significant motif in Tiwi art, as birds feature in a number of important stories, bearing witness to original mythological events as they took place.

Hogarth Galleries would like to thank Rachelle Burke and Terry Larkin, and all the artists and staff of Munupi Arts and Crafts Association, for bringing this exhibition to Sydney.