Cornelia Tipuamantumirri

Cornelia Tipuamantumirri, born around 1929–1930 near the present-day barge landing at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Melville Island, was a respected Tiwi elder affiliated with the Munupi Arts & Crafts Association. Her father’s ancestral country is Imalu Point and her mother’s is Munupi, both on Melville Island. She belonged to the Warntarringa (Sun) skin group, and her Dreaming was Jarrikalani (Turtle). In her youth, Cornelia guided young Tiwi women in weaving and taught traditional Tiwi dance. She married Steven Tipuamantamirri and raised one daughter, Dolores Tipuamantamirri, as well as a young boy from Peppimenarti, Harry Wilson, who had been part of the Stolen Generation and later married artist Regina Wilson. Cornelia’s art practice involved using a kayimwagakimi, a comb-shaped ironwood tool, dipped in ochre paints—often pinks and yellows—to portray the reflective lights of the sky and the Arafura Sea. © Adrian Newstead