Kaye Brown

Skin: Takaringuwi (Scaly Mullet)
Country: Andranangoo (Goose Greek)
Dance: Tartuwali (Shark)
Dot Texture Short 2

Kaye is a senior Tiwi culture woman. She is well versed in the old ways, traditional stories and speaks the ‘hard’ Tiwi language. She started painting at Jilamara Arts and Craft later in life after she retired from work. Prior to this she taught at the local primary school and worked at the Milikapiti Library. She loves teaching culture to the local primary school children who come to Jilamara for culture classes in the Museum. She has a wealth of local knowledge about Tiwi culture and the history of the Tiwi people and ancestors.

She uses the Kayimwagakimi (carved ironwood comb) and natural ochres for Melville Island to paint. Her jilamara (body paint design) and pwoja (body) styles are very layered and reminiscent of some of the old Tiwi artists and the body painting styles hey used to prepare for ceremony and yoi (dance).

Kaye paints on canvas, linen and paper, but is particularly drawn to painting on stringybark sourced from around Milikapiti. Although joining the art centre later in life, Kaye is gaining recognition as a leading female artist at Jilamara. Her first solo exhibition in 2020 at Aboriginal and Pacific was met with public acclaim, and she followed it up with another successful show in 2022. She has been a finalist in the Telstra NATSIA Awards twice and was a significant part of the major TIWI Exhibition at NGV Australia in 2020/21. Kaye also has a very successful design as part of Jilamara’s screen printed textiles line, which was part of the North Tiwi Strong Women’s Collection.

Artworks by Kaye Brown

Winga - Print - Kaye Brown

Winga

265-17-13/20

$403

Sold
Kaye Brown
29.5 x 24.5cm (image), hard ground etching with chine colle and pigment
Yirrinkiripwoja - Stringybark Painting - Kaye Brown

Yirrinkiripwoja

94-22

$5,060

Sold
Kaye Brown
93 x 43cm, locally sourced natural ochres on stringybark
Yirrinkiripwoja (body paint design) - Stringybark Painting - Kaye Brown

Yirrinkiripwoja (body paint design)

280-22

$6,900

Sold
Kaye Brown
54 x 127
Pwoja - Stringybark Painting - Kaye Brown

Pwoja

253-19

$1,035

Sold
Kaye Brown
92 x 33cm, natural ochres on bark
Yirrinkiripwoja - Stringybark Painting - Kaye Brown

Yirrinkiripwoja

278-20

$1,495

Sold
Kaye Brown
102 x 26cm, natural ochres on stringybark
Jilamara - Painting - Kaye Brown

Jilamara

141-16

$288

Sold
Kaye Brown
45 x 45cm, natural ochres on canvas
warlamani - Painting - Kaye Brown

warlamani

186-17

$1,265

Sold
Kaye Brown
120 x 60, natural ochre on canvas