Shane Dodd, Wati Tjukurpa, 739-24MM, Mimili Maku
"Acrylic on found metal", 101cm x 101cm
This is a men's story. The circles in this painting represent wati tjuta (lots of men). They are all connected through the secrets and stories that are only spoken amongst initiated men. This knowledge is important to keep our country and culture strong. My family has been looking after country for a long time, and we still look after Land Management today, learning from our grandfather Sammy.
Mimili is sited within the beautiful Everard Rangers on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in the north-west of South Australia and 488 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs. Mimili is home to 300 Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara people who have been living in the area for millennia in harmony with nature and acting as custodians of the land and the Tjukurpa (creation stories). Mimili was formerly known as Everard Park, which was a cattle station that was returned to Aboriginal ownership through the 1981 AP Lands Act. Mimili Community was incorporated as an Aboriginal Community in 1975.
