Video
Works
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Kathy Inkamala – Kwartatuma (Orminston Gorge), NT, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Kathy Inkamala – Kwartatuma (Orminston Gorge), NT, 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    102.5 x 102.5 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Mandy Malbunka & Selma Coulthard Nunay – Three Ways, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Mandy Malbunka & Selma Coulthard Nunay – Three Ways, 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    102.5 x 102.5 cm
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Vanessa & Delray Inkamala – Ljalkaindirma (Mt Hermannsburg), NT, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Vanessa & Delray Inkamala – Ljalkaindirma (Mt Hermannsburg), NT, 2022
    acrylic on repurposed road sign
    120 x 120 cm
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Dianne Inkamala – Yaprlpa (Glen Helen Gorge), NT, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Dianne Inkamala – Yaprlpa (Glen Helen Gorge), NT, 2022
    acrylic on repurposed road sign
    120 x 120 cm
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Reinhold Inkamala – Boxing Arras / Kangaroos, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Reinhold Inkamala – Boxing Arras / Kangaroos, 2022
    acrylic on repurposed road sign
    120 x 120 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Mervyn Rubuntja – Hamilton Down, NT, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Mervyn Rubuntja – Hamilton Down, NT, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    102.5 x 102.5 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Vanessa Inkamala – No Entry, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Vanessa Inkamala – No Entry, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    60 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Dellina Inkamala, Selma Coulthard Nunay & Kathy Inkamala – Care, Protect, Respect, Country – Ntarntaritjika, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Dellina Inkamala, Selma Coulthard Nunay & Kathy Inkamala – Care, Protect, Respect, Country – Ntarntaritjika, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    22 x 44 cm (15 panels), 66 x 220 cm (total)
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Selma Coulthard Nunay – Respect Our Country, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Selma Coulthard Nunay – Respect Our Country, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    60 x 90 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Mervyn Rubuntja – Mt Gillen, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Mervyn Rubuntja – Mt Gillen, 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    50.5 x 80 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Ada Lechleitner – Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges), NT, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Ada Lechleitner – Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges), NT, 2022
    acrylic on repurposed road sign
    30 x 90 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Ada Lechleitner & Kathleen France – Tjoritja with Black Cockatoo, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Ada Lechleitner & Kathleen France – Tjoritja with Black Cockatoo, 2022
    acrylic on repurposed road sign
    100 x 87 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Mervyn Rubuntja – Police Brutality (Neighbourhood Watch), 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Mervyn Rubuntja – Police Brutality (Neighbourhood Watch), 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 30 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Vanessa Inkamala – Alice Springs at Night, 2023
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Vanessa Inkamala – Alice Springs at Night, 2023
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 30 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Dianne Inkamala – No Alchohol, 2023
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Dianne Inkamala – No Alchohol, 2023
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    15 x 60 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Selma Coulthard Nunay – 181 Road Sign, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Selma Coulthard Nunay – 181 Road Sign, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Selma Coulthard Nunay – 100 Hermannsburg Road Sign, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Selma Coulthard Nunay – 100 Hermannsburg Road Sign, 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Benita Clements – Self portrait in Simpson Gap, 2022
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Benita Clements – Self portrait in Simpson Gap, 2022
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Dellina Inkamala – Road Sign 90 km I, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Dellina Inkamala – Road Sign 90 km I, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Dellina Inkamala – Road Sign 90 km II, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Dellina Inkamala – Road Sign 90 km II, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Betty Namatjira Wheeler Naparula – Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges), NT, 2021
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Betty Namatjira Wheeler Naparula – Tjoritja (West MacDonnell Ranges), NT, 2021
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    45 x 45 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Vanessa Inkamala – Rutjipma (Mt Sonder), NT, 2023
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Vanessa Inkamala – Rutjipma (Mt Sonder), NT, 2023
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    40 x 120 cm
    Sold
  • Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands, Vanessa Inkamala – Rutjipma (Mt Sonder), NT, 2023
    Iltja Ntjarra Many Hands
    Vanessa Inkamala – Rutjipma (Mt Sonder), NT, 2023
    watercolour on repurposed road sign
    23 x 100 cm
Exhibition Text

Featuring Vanessa Inkamala, Dellina Inkamala, Dianne Inkamala, Delray Inkamala, Reinhold Inkamala, Kathy Inkamala, Selma Coulthard Nunay, Mervyn Rubuntja, Betty Namatjira Wheeler Naparula, Benita Clements, Mandy Malbunka, Kathleen France & Ada Lechleitner.

 

Artists here at Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre paint in the watercolour tradition of Albert Namatjira. Passed down through family lines, the Western Aranda artists have developed a style now known as the Hermannsburg School of Art. The Country the artists depict is of sacred and cultural significance, they paint ancestral sites in the landscape relevant to their family lines. The Iltja Ntjarra artists journey through painting speaks of knowledge and respect. – Marisa Maher, Assistant Manager & Curator

 

Painting on repurposed road signs this unique and innovative body of work speaks to the way country is named and boundaries are drawn since colonisation. Whether used to direct traffic or to communicate specific rules, signs like these are crucial in governing our relationship to the land. In bright and arresting colours, they are used to convey laws and regulations across the continent. In the hands of the Iltja Ntjarra artists, their function is subverted to communicate important information relating to Country, its beauty, cultural practices and customary lore on traditional lands. Each sign has been painted with images of Country in the Hermansberg style. Alongside these beautiful images are messages that urge us to look after these precious lands for future generations, telling us that it is not something to be owned or taken advantage of for profit.

 

We want to introduce to people in urban environments the beautiful landscape of the Northern Territory. At the same time, we want to raise awareness about the issues we are facing. – Senior artist Mervyn Rubuntja

 

In the past there was so much vegetation rich with bush medicine. The main springs were always bubbling like a hot tub. The birds and wild animals always came to drink water. Nowadays the vegetation is decreasing, it has been heavily destroyed by the introduction of buffel grass. – Selma Coulthard Nunay

 

The Iltja Ntjarra artists have dedicated decades of committed artistic practice to the respectful and close study of their Country. These works bring viewers into this practice of Kangkwerrama or respectfully taking notice. For those unfamiliar with Central Australian landscape, the works are captivating depictions of the landscapes. The messages they convey command attention, reworking the words of the colonial state to speak plainly and clearly, calling for greater respect for Country, its stories and people.

 

The Iltja Ntjarra artists’ road signs featured in the 23rd Biennale of Sydney in 2022 and in ‘Belonging / Tjoritjarinja’ at Ngununggula in the Southern Highlands, 25 March – 21 May 2023. Works from this project were acquired by the Murdoch University Art Collection in 2023.

Installation Views