Untitled 1990

In contrast to other Tiwi artists, who usually prefer painting in more natural tones, Maria Josette Orsto here makes striking use of bright synthetic colours. Her distinctive palette has been a major feature of her practice since the early 1990s, when she was a leading artist of the younger generation of Tiwi, and perhaps the most original artist in terms of experimenting with colour and its visual impact.

This striking purple and green work is almost certainly a representation of the Kulama ceremony. The compositional elements of bold circles and grid separations are used by Orsto to represent the skin groups and participants in the ceremony, while smaller circles may represent ceremonial accoutrements such as pamijini (armbands).