Lot 28

Mimili Maku Arts, Mimili, South Australia (accompanied by the certificate of authenticity)
Private collection, Melbourne

From the same series as his 2017 NATSIAA award winning artwork 'Milkali Kutju – One blood'.

"Milkali Kutju -meaning 'one blood' in Pitjantjatj'ara language - is a call for unity, for an end to racial prejudice. I'm asking people to look beneath the surface and see that our differences are only skin deep. We all have blood running through our veins.

The white dots that make up the text are piercings I've burnt through the paper with a hot iron, I've pierced the paper so that viewers are literally looking beneath the surface of my artwork. With this burning/piercing technique I am paying tribute to a great artist and matriarch of Mimili who was famous for burning intricate designs onto wooden artefacts with a hot wire. This woman, who's sadly no longer with us, was a senior cultural elder who showed me the beauty of the country, the culture, the story, song and dance when I first came to Mimili almost 20 years ago.

My artworks talk about the shared histories of Aboriginal people. Our customs and rituals, both new and old. Our struggle, our resilience, our hunger, our sustenance, our survival. I incorporate Pitj'antjatjara and Yankunytjatjara language in my work to demonstrate the pride, strength and resilience of our culture."

As stated on the Mimili Maku Arts certificate of authenticity.

© Robert Fielding/Copyright Agency, 2025