“Tutini (Pukumani Pole)”
Matthew Galarla
14 July → 9 Sept 2023
West Space and Agency present Tutini (Pukumani Pole) by Tiwi Islands based artist Matthew Galarla in the West Space Window.
Tutini are part of the traditional Pukumani (funeral) ceremony, one of two major ceremonies of great significance to the Tiwi culture. Pukumani is connected to a major ancestral story about the first death on the Tiwi Islands, where the Tiwi ancestor Purukuparli performed the first Pukumani ceremony for his baby son, Jinani.
Considered the most important ceremony in a Tiwi person’s life, Pukumani is the final ritual which farewells the deceased through song and yoyi (dance) and safely sends their spirit to rest on Country. The ceremony takes place several months after burial, during which time Tutini poles are commissioned by specific family members. These are hand-carved and painted with natural ochres in significant designs to celebrate the life of the deceased, and to aid in the spirit’s journey to the afterlife.
Matthew Galarla is based on Melville Island, the larger of the two Tiwi Islands. Tiwi means ‘we the people’ and the Tiwi people have their own distinct language and culture, developed over thousands of years since sea level rises separated them from the mainland.
Munupi Arts is part of the fabric of the community of Pirlangimpi, which overlooks the strait that separates the two islands. Painting and carving using local timber and natural ochres, the artists’ use of explosively vibrant yellow and red ochres alongside black and white pigments in celebration of the Tiwi people’s worldview.
This forms part of our partnership with Agency, bringing the work of emerging First Nations artists to Collingwood Yards.
Matthew Galarla is an artist living on Melville Island, the larger of the two Tiwi Islands. The island’s southern coast is 80 kilometers from the northern shores of Darwin. Matthew works from Munupi Arts, a not-for-profit Tiwi-owned and governed social enterprise that has been in operation for 30 years.