Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this journal contains images and names of deceased persons. We have received permission from his family to share these images as part of this story. 

Earlier this year, some of our team travelled to Mparntwe/Alice Springs to meet one of the artists behind our new capsule collaboration, Tjoritja.

The collection draws from the breathtaking beauty of Tjoritja (the West MacDonnell Ranges) its ridges and gorges translated in the luminous watercolours of Kumantjai M Wheeler and Selma Coulthard, both artists represented by Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre.

During our time in Mparntwe, we were fortunate to meet Kumantjai M Wheeler, his wife Betty and their family. We spent time together at Iltja Ntjarra/Many Hands Arts Centre, taking photographs of Kumantjai with his paintings, then with his extended family headed to Simpson's Gap, where we were able to take some photos of four generations of his family on their Country.

His great grandkids played in the trees and the sand while we took photos, and Kumantjai taught Emily a couple of phrases in between shots. He and his family were so generous with their time, driving in from their home in Hermannsburg to meet with us.

We were deeply saddened to hear that Kumantjai M Wheeler passed away recently. His talent, warmth and incredible connection to his Country left a lasting impression on us. We are honoured to be able to share this collection as a celebration of life and work. Working with his art in this collection has been a privilege and we are deeply grateful to Betty, his family and the community at Iltja Ntjarra Art Centre for allowing us to share his legacy through our collaboration, Tjoritja.

Our collaboration Tjoritja is a celebration of artists Kumantjai M Wheeler and Selma Coulthard’s artwork, their living history of landscape watercolours of the renowned Hermannsburg School of Painting (with Albert Namatjira, their most famous artist), these artists depict special places of their home, such as Mpulungkinya/ Palm Valley, Tjoritja /West MacDonnell Ranges and the running waters of  Urrampinyi and Irrmakara (Tempe Downs)."

Read on as Emily shares her time in Mparntwe, on meeting Kumantjai M Wheeler, his wife Betty and their family and the inspiration behind our collaboration. Tjoritja.

I have always loved and admired the Hermannsburg school of art – and from visiting the West MacDonnell Ranges a couple of times over the past few years, have been so inspired by the colours and textures of the landscape there. A couple of years ago I visited Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, and saw their incredible works in person, and started the conversation after that. I feel very lucky that we were able to collaborate and shoot the collection in Tjoritja.

We met up with Kumantjai, Betty and their family, along with Tyler and Marisa from Iltja Ntjarra Arts Centre at their main studio in Alice Springs, to see Kumantjai painting and try on some pieces from the collaboration before heading out to Simpson’s Gap, following the road that trails along the base of the escarpments and mountains of the West MacDonnell Ranges.

His great-grandkids played in the sand as we took photos of Kumantjai and Betty, and eventually gathering the whole family together for some photos.

We loved the soft but rich pastel colour palette of the artworks, and felt it would be beautiful to see them on light airy cotton voiles, with a high summer feeling.

The Palm Valley artwork was collaged into different fabric panels, and became more abstract, and the Tjoritja artwork felt like it needed to be shown in full, so that artwork sits across all panels on body and sleeve as a whole artwork.

We created some woven designs to sit back with the artworks, green stripes to contrast with the pinks and blues of the artwork.

I hope that this collection may expose the rich history of this school of art to a new audience. I also hope that, in light of the recent passing of Kumantjai, that people might explore his collection and life story at Iltja Ntjarra more fully.

Yes of course. We pay a commission for every piece produced, which allows us to use the artwork for an agreed number of pieces. We pay an upfront advance when the agreement is signed, and the balance is paid once we have our purchase orders placed with our makers. This means that the artists are not waiting for things to sell before they are paid.

We also purchased the Palm Valley artwork by Kumantjai M Wheeler, which allowed us to scan the artwork at very high resolution and use this artwork at large scale.

When we work with arts centres, we use an Arts Law contract which is the gold standard for First Nations collaborations.