Martumili Artists - Nyurnma (burnt ground)

Martu artists paint Country in all it’s different seasonal stages. Important to Martu, and to Martu Country, is the practice of waru (fire burning); a practice that assists with hunting, regenerates growth, and encourages greater diversity in plant and animal life. When Martu Country burns, mosaic fire scars are left on the Country, and patches of regeneration form a kind of mosaic pattern across the land.  Waru is typically burnt in small, controlled areas, leaving a defined patchwork pattern in the land, across tali (sand hills), linyji (clay pans), parulyukurru (spinifex country) and pila (sandy plains). This patterning is clearly visible in Martumili Artists works, where they paint Country from an aerial perspective.

“This a waru (fire). Nyurnma (freshly burnt) country there, and a waru-waru (green shoots and young plants). After that you got manguu (mature spinifex, able to be burnt).” – Ngamaru Bidu

Photo: Wokka Taylor, Untitled (19-69), 2019, acrylic on canvas. Image supplied by Martumili Artists