UNTITLED, 2000
KITTY KANTILLA
natural earth pigments and synthetic binder on canvas
133.0 x 80.0 cm
bears inscription verso: artist’s name and Jilamarra Arts and Crafts cat.137 – 00
Jilamara Arts and Crafts, Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory
Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney
Private collection, Sydney
Kitty Kantilla, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, November 2001, cat. 9
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Jilamara Arts and Crafts, Milikapiti.
Acquired from Kitty Kantilla’s 5th solo exhibition held in December 2000 at Aboriginal and Pacific Art in Sydney, Untitled, 2000 is painted on a white ground and encompasses all the elements of the artist’s lexicon: pwanga (dots), marlipinyini (lines) and turtiyangimari (colours of white, red, yellow and black).
Although seemingly abstract in appearance, Kantilla’s mark making is far from arbitrary, her designs evoke cultural history and ritual, particularly the Pukumani ceremony, where the Tiwi gather to farewell the dead. Here performers in full body decoration participate in a cycle of song and dance.