For most people, the Pilbara is renowned as a harsh outback landscape of searing temperatures, where the endless red plains are only interrupted by the blighted scars of mining sites. But for thousands of years, these lands have been the home of the Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi, Gurrama and Banjima people who have found beauty and life in the rolling hills, Spinifex covered plains and mangrove rich coastline. For the Ngarada (Indigenous people) these lands held great riches, well before they were discovered to be rich in the mineral deposits that fuel western industry.

Mossenson Galleries, in conjunction with the Roebourne Art Group are proud to present the first Melbourne exhibition from this new community art initiative. Marni Bura: Markings on the Rock celebrates the continuation of Indigenous culture and tradition in the Pilbara, whilst presenting a stirring critique of the encroachment of mining interests into the traditional lands of the Ngarluma.

The exhibition will be opened at 6pm Tuesday 13 May 2008 by Peter Hylands. The artists Loreen Samson and Pansy Hicks will be present for the opening.

The Aboriginal people of the area around Roebourne call themselves Ngarada or Ngarada-nali. They include members of the Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi, Guruma and Banjima peoples. It is estimated that Aboriginal people have lived in these lands for at least 30,000 years, practicing their culture and caring for the country.

The spiritual and law system of the Ngarada is interconnected with the land and the Dreaming which is called Ngurra Nyujunggaamu meaning ‘when the world was soft’. According to tradition, the creation spirits or Marrga got up from the ground and lifted the sky and world out of the sea. The Marrga and Minkala/Mangunyba (Sky God) named and shaped the country and all the birds and animals. These beliefs, along with the ceremonies, traditions and law that they endow are held strongly by the Indigenous people of Roebourne, who continue to perform Birdarra law ceremonies, attracting participants from across the Pilbara and Kimberley regions.

In 2005, the artists of Roebourne united to create the Roebourne Art Group, to promote artistic activity and help preserve the ancient visual culture of the Ngarada.

The Pilbara is home to one of the oldest known expressions of human visual culture – the Aboriginal petroglyphs (rock-engravings) of the Burrup Peninsula. Known as Murujuga to the Indigenous inhabitants, these rock-art sites are of profound importance to the Ngarada who see them as the tangible expression of their people’s ancestral knowledge. In recent years, Murujuga has come under intense threat from mining interests and vandalism.

This cultural desecration has forged a powerful response in the artwork of Loreen Samson. A 37 year-old woman of the Ngarluma people, Loreen has established herself as one of the leading artists of the Pilbara movement. Her works in Marni Bura focus on the incursion of mining intrests as they overtake her beloved Pilbara landscape.

According to Loreen:
The mining companies are taking away our ancestors knowledge. The machinery and mining cast shadows over our country, as mining destroys the country’s beauty. What was so beautiful is now lost. That’s the moment of time when we should open our eyes to the sadness. It’s so sad that our cultural knowledge is going past day and night, our pride is getting destroyed through mining. No more tribal song, no more teaching places. There’s nothing for us now. The knowledge of our ancestors is gone… the shame of mining.

And yet, the paintings of Loreen Samson, and her elder compatriots Alice Guinness and Pansy Hicks are not all of heart-ache. They also celebrate the survival of traditional culture. This is particularly evident in the works of Alice and Pansy, which depict Bundut (dancing grounds), bush tucker and Dreaming stories in a colourful outpouring of lyric intensity. As Loreen notes, “Paintings can heal your sadness. Success means you can help others.”