Beverly Burton: Ngayuku Kamiku Ngura, Holding Onto Grandmother’s Country

Beverly Burton, Ngayuku Ngura – My Country, 2021, Synthetic polymer paint on linen 198 x 152 cm. Courtesy: the Artist, Tjala Arts and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne 2022.

Alcaston Gallery presents Ngayuku Kamiku Ngura, Holding onto Grandmother’s Country an exhibition of paintings and ceramics by Beverly Burton, one of Tjala Arts’ emerging artists.

Burton comes from an influential family lineage of cultural leaders and artists including her mother Naomi Kantjuriny, known for her work with the Mitakiki Women’s Collaborative and as a traditional ngangkari healer, and her father, Kunmanara (Hector) Burton, who was a senior artist at Tjala Arts and respected elder revered as an extremely important caretaker of Aṉangu law and culture. In her forthcoming exhibition, Burton honours Kunmanara (Hector) Burton’s mother, her grandmother.

“Ngayulu pulkara pukurarinyi ngayuku kamiku tjukurpaku, panya ngaayuku kamiku tjukurpa kuṉpu… Iritinguru alatjiṯu ngaṟanyi.” (I am proud because my grandmother’s story is strong. I paint to remember my grandmother’s story… That story has been there a long time. That story has been there forever.)