Reflective of the rhythm of music and dance, Francesca Puruntatameri’s compositions shift from areas of highly populated marks to generous lines of ochre paint which undulate across the surface of her paintings on canvas and bark. The interplay of colours, line-work including multilayered crossed diagonals is complemented by patterning made with Kayimwagakimi, a traditional carved Tiwi comb.  

Francesca Puruntatameri’s individual expression of Tiwi abstraction is drawn from a shared understanding of Jilimara, the significant artistic designs painted during ceremonies on the Tiwi Islands. During these ceremonies, Turtiyanginari (a range of natural ochre pigments) are applied to the bodies and faces of dancers who act out totemic (inherited from an individual’s mother) and newly composed narratives and songs. These designs and mark making serve to transform the dancers and in some cases, provide protection from recognition by mapurtiti (spirits). Francesca Puruntatameri references this rich history in her own, distinct manner. 

Born in 1965 in Wurrumiyanga (Nguiu), Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Francesca Puruntatemeri has exhibited in group exhibitions throughout Australia and in the UK, USA, Norway and Belgium. Puruntatameri completed a Certificate II in Arts and Crafts at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, NT, as well as a number of printmaking workshops. She assists with fabric screenprinting at Munupi Arts and Crafts Association and has been involved with the centre since its inception. Munupi Arts and Crafts Association at Pirlangimpi (Garden Point) on Melville Island, formed in 1990, incorporating the Yikikini Women’s Centre and Pirlangimpi Pottery and is one of three important art centres in the Tiwi Islands. Francesca Purutatameri served as President of Munupi Arts and Crafts Association from 2009 to 2013.