Rosie King Tarku

I was born at a jumu [soak water] called Payinjarra in the Great Sandy Desert. I walked out from the desert with my husband when I was a young girl. I left my mother and brother Kumanjayi [deceased] Pijaju behind at Japingka. My husband had two wives, my older sister and myself. These two passed away a long time ago, here in the river country at Brooking Springs Station.

When we left the desert we walked for a long time, it was a long way. We were walking and hunting. We killed pussycat and wirlka [sand goanna] for food but no kangaroo. I was walking, all the time worrying about my mother but I kept going. My husband and my sister were both cheeky, they hit me for no reason. I was crying for my mother. I got away from them once, they were too cheeky to me and telling me, “come on you have to go”. I told them, “No, I want to go back to my mother”.They kept telling me “No, you have to keep going”.

I was frightened but I came out at Old Bililluna.There were planes landing right there, I was frightened of that plane. From there, all of us kids went walking and looking at the plane that had landed. I didn’t know any English, I just looked at the kartiya [Europeans]. We kept going and we saw kartiya getting water in a bucket from a well.This was new to me too, it was the first time I had seen this

We had no shoes, we were wearing yakapiri [bush used to make sandals to protect feet from the hot ground]. I talked only Juwaliny when I came but today I speak Juwaliny,Walmajarri, Kriol and English.After that, a motor car came from Moola Bulla to Old Bililluna and took us to Moola Bulla. We came out there, frightened in the car, we hadn’t seen one before. We didn’t know anyone there either. I met Munmurria DaisyAndrews there and her first son. I didn’t know her before then.

PAINTING THEMES:

Jila[living waterhole], jilji [sand hills] and jumu [soakwater waterhole] in the Great Sandy Desert: Wajampajartijumu, Kalajita jumu, Japingka jila

Trees, grasses and flowers

SOLO EXHIBITION:

GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2021          Jury Art Prize Kathy Donnelly Encouragement Award, Courthouse Gallery Port Hedland WA

2020          Telstra NATSIAA  Finalist                                      MAGNT, Darwin, NT

2020          Mangkaja Stars Legacy to Uphold                       Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery                                                                                                       – Bruxelles – Belgium

2020          Creative Growth and Mangkaja Artists                  OutsiderArt Fair, New York City

2019          Meeting PlacesCreative Growth and Mangkaja   Creative Growth Oakland, CA

2018         Desert Ladies                                                          Salon Indigenous Project Space, Darwin

2018         Kimberly Art Prize Winner                                       Derby, WA.

COLLECTIONS:

Art Gallery of WA

National Museum of Australia

Fitzroy Crossing High School

Fitzroy Crossing Hospital