Robert Fielding

Robert Fielding
language groups: Western Aranda, Yankunytjatjara

Manta Miil-miilpa, sacred earth 2020
screenprint with natural pigment and aerosol paint; unique print
Courtesy of the artist and Mimili Maku Arts, South Australia

Artist statement:

Our people, our spirit, our languages, our inma (song and dance) are all expressions of the sacredness of this earth. This sacredness radiates from the earth through every aspect of our culture. My work is a reminder of that sacred interconnectedness. Manta Miil-miilpa, sacred earth.

These lines of tutu (red ochre) show my lineage, uniting the storylines of our deep past with our shared futures. They show how important it is to be born from Manta Miil-miilpa. We are part of the songlines that flow through country. Like our culture, they are continuous, they know no borders, no beginning, no end.

As a practicing cultural man, I will always be part of this earth first, part of the storylines. My children, their children, and their children in turn will be part of this same Tjukurpa Miil-miilpa. From the earth we come, to the earth we return. We are our culture; we are this sacred earth.