Wanti Yuu, 2026

“Wanti Yuu (Woman Yeah!) is a story of resilience and of women coming together. It is about the strength of the women in our community who put themselves last and take on a lot. She [Wanti Yuu] is someone who looks after her family, putting the grand kids and everyone around her first. The word Matriarch comes to mind. They are the matriarch of the family. The Boss Lady. Always helping everyone else out and leaving herself to the end. She paints, she teaches us her knowledge, like basket weaving and honey ant collecting. She is the top lore woman and her story of Pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) is so important. She is a leader of the Martu women and a senior artist. That’s all I can say about these women. These women; you give her the bread if you know what I mean. It's a true story. Anything in my pockets. Because when you look at her, her stance, her energy and her vibe, you can feel it. You don’t muck around with Wanti Yuu.”

-Sylvia Wilson

“I’m Sylvia Wilson, an emerging curator at Martumili Art Gallery. The first exhibition I curated was in 2021 with fellow artists Robina Willams and Corban Williams. Paper Wangka (Paper Story in Martu) exhibition unearthed paper artwork treasures from Martumili collection as a professional development project for us three emerging curators. Since then I have lead the gallery team to curate and install a number of exhibitions including Ngapikaja (the loose translation thingamibobs) and Mikka (Bush foods). I also curated a show for Yaama ganu Gallery in NSW in September 2023. I love working with spaces and amazing artwork. I love going through the process of selection and coming up with themes that tie the pieces together. I get so excited to see works the works we send to different galleries, stretched and hung on the walls in places like Darwin, Perth and Sydney.

I also knew I was different from a young age. I remember saying it all the time, not understanding why until now, in my late 30s. Mum Pat was a good mother — strict but loving. She wanted the best for me. We grew up in a big family. I didn’t know where I came from until I was older.

My Martu birth mother, Susan, was young. She also came from a big family and had a very cultural upbringing. We Martu people were the last to be discovered in Australia. For me, I say out loud: I have a Black mum and a white mum, living in two different worlds. I guess that’s being a true Australian.”

– Sylvia Wilson