"I was born in Pitu (Separation Well). Alongside that water place, Pitu, is where I grew up. I became an adult in the desert before I went to Jigalong
I'm really happy when I'm painting my Country. I'm proud as I follow my Country, I'm holding onto my Country. That's my water in the East. I'm painting my Country. It's not someone else's, it's my Country.
I'm looking after my Country. I'm showing my family the Country. I feel privileged that I can see it. As I watch my children I'm really happy for them. I'm watching them all while they're working, on the Country. I'm so proud of them. I'm looking after them and now I feel fulfilled."
- Jakayu Biljabu (dec.) as translated by Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa
Jakayu Biljabu (c.1935–2015) was a Manyjilyjarra woman born north of Pitu (Separation Well), an important cultural site and large soak located yulparirra (south) of Wuranu (Canning Stock Route Well 29). She lived a pujiman (traditional, desert-dwelling) lifestyle in her youth, moving through Country surrounding Kunawarritji (Canning Stock Route Well 33), Wikiri, Rarrki (Canning Stock Route Well 27), Wantili (Warntili, Canning Stock Route Well 25), Pitu, Nyilangkurr and Nyinyari. During this time, Jakayu’s family would regularly meet and travel with the families of fellow Martumili artists Bugai Whyoulter and Ngamaru Bidu.
Jakayu’s early contact with whitefellas occurred at wells along the Canning Stock Route, when drovers sometimes slaughtered a bullock and shared the meat with her family. Her father remained wary of Europeans, having heard of the violent methods used by Alfred Canning’s group when the Stock Route was chartered. As a result, Jakayu’s family were among the last pujimanpa (traditional, desert dwellers) to leave the desert. In 1963, while travelling with her husband, children and extended family, Jakayu encountered surveyor Len Beadell, who was grading roads for the Woomera Missile Testing Range. Soon after, her family was tracked by Jigalong Mission staff and brought to the mission, reuniting with relatives after many years. She later worked as a baker at Jigalong Mission and at stations across the region before moving to the Aboriginal-owned Strelley Station. In 1982, during the ‘Return to Country’ movement, she relocated with her family to Punmu Aboriginal community, where she lived for the remainder of her life.
Jakayu became a senior Martumili Artist, celebrated for her bold painterly style and striking compositions deeply grounded in the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) narratives of her Country. Her paintings often depict the sandhills, claypans and salt lakes of the Manyjilyjarra desert regions she travelled through in her youth. She viewed painting as a vital means of passing knowledge to younger Martu generations, working both independently and in collaboration with younger artists such as Corban Williams. Acclaimed nationally and internationally, her work was exhibited widely and acquired by major institutions, including the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria, and Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art. Jakayu’s legacy endures through her art and the cultural knowledge she shared.
COLLECTIONS
National Gallery of Victoria, VIC
National Museum of Australia, ACT
Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW
Queensland Art Gallery I Gallery of Modern Art, QLD
Museum of Contemporary Art, NSW
Art Gallery of Western Australia, WA
AWARDS
2015 Finalist, Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, NATSIAA
2015 Finalist, Hedland Art Award
2013 Finalist, Hedland Art Award
2013 Finalist, Glencore Art Centre Award
