women collaborative
Major collaborative artwork by Carolanne Ken , Madeline Curley. This is the cave of Minyma Makuli), also known as Minyma Malilu) – minyma nymupu – she wascrippedand had to crawl on her hands and knees across the ground. She dug out this cave with the piti (wooden bowl), to be her big wiltja (shelter). She camped here with herkungkawara kutjara, two daughters, young women. One evening the girls returnedfrom hunting with kuku pulka (large game), she wondered how they got it, and whereit had come from? Two men had given it to the girls!
Her girls left her alone for a long time and didn’t help her, poor thing, poor old weakwoman, so she decided to follow them. She crawled after them, wanatjara anu, usinga walking stick, following their tracks northwest back to the hills. When she reachedtheir camp the men hit and killed her.
They had called the girls in marriage and took them away. This is Carolanne’sgrandmother’s country. The underground cave at Kanypi is a permanent water supply. Carolanne is from Fregon on the *APY Lands. Precise, fine brushwork are characteristics of her work. Carolanne is a keen story teller and combining a traditionalstyle with a contemporary edge to her work, reflects a keen sense of place retainingthe importance of traditional country as inspiration for her work. *AnanguPitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Lands, in the far north-west of South Australia.