Kulama – warnarringa, japarra amintiya japalinga (sun, moon and stars)

Timothy Cook and his fellow artists working through Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association in Milikapiti on Melville Island each continue an inherited responsibility of bringing Tiwi art to public attention. Cook’s work is distinct, based on infinite arrangements of kurluwukari (circles) and pwanga (dots) used to explore the stories of japarra (the moon), Kulama (the coming-of-age ceremony) and japalinga (the stars). Together, they chronicle the enduring history and complex visual culture of Tiwi people.

Cook examines how references to the moon, yam and landscape within Tiwi art are intertwined with the Kulama ceremony. His work dwells on the physical coming together of people in a circle over days and nights to engage in an intergenerational exchange of knowledge.

Cook has commented: ‘Kulama painting, that’s our initiation – a song about dancing … potato they cook them up … Keep culture strong and people make it strong … People make culture and they make it strong.’

This work was reproduced by the AGNSW for a digital vinyl artwork for the 2023 Harbour Terrace Canopy Commission.