18-535 – Ngamaru Bidu

“This is the waru-waru, the yukarri warta (green shoots and young plants). After the waru (fire) the mirrka (bush tucker) grows up. After the burning. you get all the animals coming to that place ”

Martu artists paint Country in all it’s different seasonal stages. Important to Martu, and to Martu Country, is the practice of waru (fire burning); a practice that assists with hunting, regenerates growth, and encourages greater diversity in plant and animal life. When Martu Country burns, mosaic fire scars are left on the Country, and patches of regeneration form a kind of mosaic pattern across the land. This is called nyurnma – burnt Country.  Waru is typically burnt in small, controlled areas, leaving a defined patchwork pattern of nyurnma in the land, across tali (sand hills), linyji (clay pans), parulyukurru (spinifex country) and pila (sandy plains). This patterning is clearly visible in Ngamaru’s works, where she paints fire from an aerial perspective.