Patupiri Wiltja (7968-17)

'I used to see a nest in a big cave. In the cave the nest was in a warm spot. The nest was circular and the birds kept themselves warm by hugging each other. That nest is similar to a basket. These little birds have Tjukurpa stories of their own.

Many moons ago, when there was lots of food, there were many sources of wild growing food. When it’s a good season, the rain comes down. The bird knows the seasons of the moon. When the cold weather is coming, they already prepare and make a very strong and warm nest for the cold weather for his family and kids. He looks after and takes of his family.

The goanna on top of the tree is trying to eat the birds. The bird, he listens, he knows and alerts his family by whistling, “Chhirrr, chhirrr” sitting near the tree. The goanna is hungry. There’s a nest high up on top of the tree with the bird’s mother, eggs, siblings and all the babies. My basket is like a nest. In our community, that’s how it should be. Many Aboriginal people take care of their kids in a good way. Altogether the community stays strong, healthy and happily looking after their family."

Ilawanti Ken, translation by Margaret Smith with kind assistance from Tjala Arts and Lilian Wilton

Tjanpi (meaning ‘grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held on remote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council in 1995. Tjanpi sculptures were first produced in 1998 when Kantjupayi Benson, from Papulankutja, added a handle to a basket and made a grass ‘pannikin’ (metal cup) followed by a set of camp crockery and a number of dogs.

Anangu women of the Central and Western Desert have for a very long time worked with natural fibres to create items such as bush sandals (wipiya tjina), pouches (yakutja), hair-string skirts (mawulyarri), and head-rings (manguri) for daily and ceremonial use. Adding a contemporary spin to the traditional, women now create baskets, vessels and an astonishing array of vibrant sculptures from locally collected desert grasses bound with string, wool or raffia and often incorporating feathers, seeds and found materials.

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Ilawanti Ken is a senior Pitjantjatjara woman who was born in Watarru in remote South Australia and currently resides in Amata. She is a well-respected painter with Tjala Arts and an innovative Tjanpi fibre artist. Ilawanti is also a strong cultural leader and ngangkari (traditional healer) with Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara Women’s Council Ngangkari program . Ilawanti's fibre work is well known for its flamboyant design, colour and texture consistently producing unique and highly collectible pieces. She uses the nest shape and bird designs to reflect upon community life and values of looking after family and keeping safe from harm. Ilawanti has exhibited widely and is represented in major national collections such as The Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, with the collaborative work Minyma punu kungkarangkalpa and with Paarpakani in the Art Gallery of South Australia. Ilawanti is a current finalist in NATSIAA 2017. Tjapi (meaning ‘dry grass’) evolved from a series of basket weaving workshops held on remote communities in the Western Desert by the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunyjatjara Women’s Council in 1995. Building on traditions of using fibre for medicinal, ceremonial and daily purposes, women took easily to making coiled baskets. These new-found skills were shared with relations on neighbouring communities and weaving quickly spread. Today over 400 women across 28 communities are making baskets and sculptures out of grass and working with fibre in this way is firmly embedded in Western and Central desert culture. While out collecting desert grasses for their fibre art, women visit sacred sites and traditional homelands, hunt and gather food for their families and teach their children about country. Tjanpi Desert Weavers is Aboriginal owned and is directed by an Aboriginal executive. It is an arts business but also a social enterprise that provides numerous social and cultural benefits and services to weavers and their families. Tjanpi’s philosophy is to keep culture strong, maintain links with country and provide meaningful employment to the keepers and teachers of the desert weaving business