Karina Coombes / Bombing of Darwin (25-70)

Artwork is accompanied by Munupi Artists Certificate of Authenticity/Provenance

DOB: 17/05/1982
Father’s Country: New Zealand, South Island
Mother’s Country: Warriyuwu, Bathurst Island
Skin: Scaly Mullet
Language: Tiwi
Dreaming: Jarrikalani (Turtle)

Karina Coombes is the daughter of Florence Puruntatameri-Coombes, and Graeme Coombes. Her mother is a Tiwi woman from Pirlangimpi Community on Melville Island. Her father originated from Queenstown, New Zealand but married Florence as a young man and called Pirlangimpi home for over 30 years. He raised Karina and her siblings on the islands, visiting New Zealand only a handful of times during that time with his wife and children. Graeme passed away in 2010.

Karina still lives permanently at Pirlangimpi with her three children, Stanley, Latoya and Janae. She works for the Tiwi Islands Training and Employment Board. Also now known as ‘Penny’ due to her being a Penrith Panthers supporter as a young girl, she now follows AFL more so than Rugby League.

Her artistic career began in mid 2010 under the direction of her grandfather, Justin Puruntatameri and Florence (Justin’s eldest daughter). Justin in particular was able to give Karina invaluable advice on what she could correctly portray as defined by her Tiwi family ties. She has since progressed from depicting Jarrikalani and Takaringa, to portraying the various incarnations of the night sky as it appears over the Tiwi Islands.

Selected Exhibitions

• 2025 Tukuwanyinga (Shooting Star), Art Mob, TAS
• 2024 Across the Water Group Exhibition, Artitja Fine Art Gallery; Fremantle; WA
• 2023 Ngarukuruwala Kapi Murrukupuni (we sing to the land) Cooee Art Leven, Redfern, NSW
• 2023 Pupuni Mantiminga – Fine Lines, Everywhen Art Space; Flinders, VIC
• 2023 Kurrujupunyi – Ochre Colours, Hilton Double Tree, Darwin, NT
• 2022 Line In Parrallel, Artitja Fine Art Gallery; South Fremantle; WA
• 2017 Earth Matters Form: The Goods Shed; Claremont, WA
• 2017 Golden Years, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Parap, Darwin, NT
• 2017 Kiripapuranjuwi (Skilled Hands), Red Dot Fine Art Gallery, Singapore
• 2016 Point of difference; Desert to Sea, Artitja Fine Art Gallery; Fremantle, WA
• 2016 Ngawila Jilamara Exhibition, Hilton Double Tree, Darwin NT
• 2016 Spiritual Materialism, Illena Tounta Art Centre, Athens, Greece
• 2013 ‘Gallerist’s Choice’, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art, Hobart, TAS
• 2012 Tiwi Tradition – Munupi Artists of Melville Island, Artitja Fine Art Gallery, South Fremantle, WA
• 2012 ‘Dot to Dot’, Art Mob Gallery, Hobart, TAS
• 2012 ‘Parlini Amintiya Awirankini’, Tiwi Art Network Annual Exhibition, Darwin, NT
• 2011 ‘Tiwi Temptations’ Art Mob, Hobart, TAS
• 2011 ‘Tiwi Island Art’, Aranda Aboriginal Art, Melbourne, VIC
• 2011 ‘Emma’s Choice’, Art Mob Gallery, Hobart, TAS

Bibliography
• 2016 Spiritual Materialism; Dimitios Antonitsis; Illeana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre, Athens, Greece

After the first bombing, the men thought of making songs and dance about the bombing and the planes. This painting is about that. One old man singing, while men, women and kids dance around. Some people, when the bombing started, were standing around or hunting with their spears, when the bombing started they were throwing their spears to the plane and hiding to try to keep safe.