The Tiwi Islands
A visual language of its own — geometric, carved and unmistakably Tiwi, developed in island isolation north of Darwin.
About this country
Bathurst and Melville Islands sit roughly 80 kilometres north of Darwin. Separated from the mainland for thousands of years, Tiwi people developed a design language that stands apart from anything else in Australia.
Tiwi work is grounded in Pukumani, the mortuary ceremony, and in the carved and painted ironwood tutini (burial poles) made for it. The designs are strongly geometric — bands, dots, grids and comb-marked lines applied with a pwoja (painting comb) — and the palette is built from natural ochres.
Alongside painting on canvas and bark, the islands are known for carved birds and figures, screen-printed textiles and ceramics. Jilamara is the Tiwi word for the painted design itself.
Art from The Tiwi Islands
No works from this region are listed at the moment
Our holdings change constantly, and much of what arrives is sold before it is photographed. Tell us what you are looking for from The Tiwi Islands and we will let you know when something suitable comes in.
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