Pedro Wonaeamirri

kurrujupuni, arrikininga, yarringa, tunuwuni kapi katukuni (white, yellow, red, black on ironwood)
《kurrujupuni, arrikininga, yarringa, tunuwuni kapi katukuni》（鐵木上的白、黃、紅、黑）
2020

Presented by Station, in collaboration with Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association
由Station呈獻，與Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association合作

kurrujupuni, arrikininga, yarringa, tunuwuni kapi katukuni (white, yellow, red, black on ironwood)
2020
Dimension variable
Locally sourced earth pigments on carved ironwood

Art carries memory, affirms identity, and transforms across generations while holding its essence. For Pedro Wonaeamirri, it is a way of sustaining Tiwi cultural knowledge—an evolving expression rooted in ceremony and ancestral traditions. Wonaeamirri is an artist and cultural leader from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin. These islands have long been a site of cultural exchange, with Tiwi people trading with Makassan fishermen from present-day Indonesia before European contact. This history of interaction has shaped Tiwi artistic and ceremonial practices, which remain among the world’s oldest living cultures. Born in Pirlangimpi on Melville Island, Wonaeamirri’s Country is Goose Creek, his tribe is White Cockatoo, and his dance is Jilarti, the Brolga. Fluent in Tiwi language and protocols, his practice ensures Tiwi art and storytelling remain vibrant across generations. At the heart of his work are Tutini poles—monumental ironwood sculptures integral to the Pukumani mourning ceremony. More than memorials, Tutini connect the living and the dead, the earthly and the spiritual. Originally presented at the 22nd Biennale of Sydney (NIRIN, 2020), these poles, created with senior carver Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri, underscore the role of intergenerational knowledge in Tiwi art. The painted surfaces—dots, lines, and chevrons—reference body painting and the foundational Tiwi story of Purrukuparli, which explains the Pukumani ceremony. These motifs encode lineage, kinship, and deep connections to Country. For Wonaeamirri, these works extend beyond ceremony into a broader artistic and conceptual framework, asserting Tiwi artistic sovereignty and reinforcing that tradition is never static but always in motion.

《kurrujupuni, arrikininga, yarringa, tunuwuni kapi katukuni》（鐵木上的白、黃、紅、黑）
2020
尺寸不定
以當地泥土顏料繪畫的鐵木雕刻

藝術承載記憶，確認身份，在世代傳承中變化，又能保留其本質。對Pedro Wonaeamirri來說，這意味著維繫提維文化遺產，保留這個植根於儀式與祖先傳統且不斷演變的表達方式。Wonaeamirri是來自達爾文北部提維群島的藝術家和文化領袖。提維群島自古便是文化交流的舞台，在與歐洲接觸之前，提維人就已經與來自現今印尼望加錫的漁民進行貿易。這段互動歷史塑造了提維的藝術創作與儀式傳統，使其成為世上延續至今的最古老生活文化之一。Wonaeamirri出生於梅爾維爾島的Pirlangimpi，血脈紮根於Goose Creek流域，屬於White Cockatoo氏族一員，象徵舞蹈是Jilarti鶴舞。他精通提維語言和禮儀，其藝術創作旨在確保提維的藝術與故事世代傳承。他作品的核心是Tutini樹柱——這些巨大的鐵木雕塑是哀悼儀式不可或缺的部分，它們不僅是紀念物，還連接著生者與死者，塵世與靈界。Tutini柱在第22屆悉尼雙年展上首次亮相，由Wonaeamirr與資深雕刻家Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri共同創作，凸顯了代際知識在提維藝術中的作用。繪畫表面的點、線和V字形元素從身體繪畫中汲取靈感，講述了提維文化中哀悼儀式的核心故事。這些圖案隱喻著血統、親屬關係和與土地的深層聯繫。對Wonaeamirri來說，這些作品超越了儀式，延伸到更廣泛的藝術和概念領域，主張提維藝術的主權，並強調傳統並非停滯不前，而是不斷演變。

Born 1974 in Pirlangimpi, Melville Island
Lives and works in Milikapiti

1974年出生於梅爾維爾島Pirlangimpi
現於Milikapiti生活和工作