Yipali and Purrukupali - Carol Puruntatameri

Painted with natural ochres and acrylic on a discarded car bonnet, this work brings together an ancient Tiwi creation story with a found object that speaks to the contemporary landscape of Yermalner (Melville Island), where abandoned vehicles have become part of the community. By transforming a discarded bonnet into a surface for ceremony and storytelling, Carol Puruntatameri reconnects Country, culture and history with the realities of the present.

Long ago on Yermalner, Purrukupali lived with his wife, Bima (Wayayi), and their son, Jinani. While Bima gathered food in the mangroves, Jinani died in the heat. Grief led Purrukupali to carry his son into the sea at Yipali, where a whirlpool swallowed them both. From that moment, death entered the world. For Tiwi people, this is a foundational creation story explaining the origin of mortality—often understood as the Tiwi equivalent of the story of Adam and Eve within Christianity.