Mum, The Boss, My Daughter and the Wanti (Woman, Girl)
Product Details
“It’s pretty much the line of thought of my family. So that’s my daughter and then my granny- ‘Nan Nan’ they call her- and then my mum, SW. And that’s my nanna Lorna. It’s pretty much the line of where I’m from. That connection and family tree.”
- Sylvia Wilson
This work is one of a series by Sylvia Wilson entitled ‘Mum, The Boss, My Daughter and the Wanti (Woman, Girl).’ As Sylvia explains, the work is both a depiction of, and attribute to, the women in her family heritage. The Martu term for family, walytja, encapsulates a broader idea of relatedness that permeates every aspect of life. The Martu four-section kinship system determines a person as belonging to either the Purungu, Milangka, Panaka or Karrimarra skin group, and was created by the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) ancestors. This system not only defines relationships, it also establishes a framework for expectations and obligations, and extends the importance of family far beyond mere blood or marriage ties.
"I’m Sylvia Wilson an emerging curator at Martumili Art Gallery. The first exhibition I curated was in 2021 with fellow artists Robina Willams and Corban Williams. Paper Wangka (Paper Story in Martu) exhibition unearthed paper artwork treasures from Martumili collection as a professional development project for us three emerging curators. Since then I have lead the gallery team to curate and install a number of exhibitions, including Ngapikaja (the loose translaon thingamibobs) and Mikka (Bush foods). I also curated a show for Yaama ganu Gallery in NSW for September 2023. I love working with spaces and amazing artwork. I love going through the process of selection and coming up with themes that e the pieces together. I get so excited to see works the works we send to different galleries, stretched and hung on the walls in places like Darwin, Perth and Sydney."
122 cm x 91 cm x 4 cm
Acrylic on Canvas
