Nura Rupert: Mamu and Mischief

Nura Rupert: Mamu and Mischief

Curated by Elizabeth CloseAs a Pitjantjatjara and Yunkunytjatjara woman, I have always wanted to work with theErnabella Archive whichisowned byErnabella Arts on behalf ofPukatjaCommunity andhousedby FlindersUniversity Museum of Art. My Grandmother was born and removedfromErnabella, orPuktaja, as it’s now known.I have other family:Tjamu’sandKami’s(Grandfathers and Grandmothers), nieces and nephews, Aunties and Uncles, who still livethere.Ernabellaartistsare well known for their ceramic and batik work. As a painter myself, Iwanted to look at the collection through a painter’s lens. As I searched, one artist stood out–Nura Rupert. Nura’s playfulness and repeated motifs ofMamu(bad spirits) andPapa Tjuta(camp dogs) kept me returning to her paintings, questioning why this imagery featured soprominently in her work.Nura Rupert is family. She is one of my many AnanguKami, and this year she would havebeen 90 years old. Her son Mulayingu Ruperthas described his mum to myTjamuandKamias joyful, alwayshappy,and full of laughter.KamiNura was also aNgankari–a traditionalAnangu healer gifted with the power to see sickness, trauma,Mamu, and other causes of illhealth or physical or psychological pain. She could see more than otherNgankari. Nuracould seeMamuand the ways in which thePapa Tjutaprotected Anangu fromMamu. Theywere not only a source of warmth and comfort, but also a source of protection.Nura’s vibrant works reflect her cheeky andmischievousattitude–dancing with movement,light and energy; I can see, hear and feel her laughter and mischief.