A Pitjantjatjara speaker, Malya was born at Curtin Springs, NT and grew up at Uluru (then known to non-Aboriginal people as Ayers Rock), Ernabella and Areyonga. He now lives in the Mutitjulu community, Uluru. Self-taught, Malya began painting in about 1985, around the time of the Uluru handback. Unlike most of the small group of painters now at Uluru, he does not carve wood. His first painting, versions of which he is still doing, concerned petrol sniffing, and is sometimes described by him as a 'history’ painting, as it shows the history of black/white relations in Australia from his perspective.
Malya sells paintings both to Maruku Arts and sometimes to individuals in the Uluru community. He says he paints 'outside’ story. His three common subjects are petrol sniffing, the Lasseter story, and the Kalgoorlie gold story. He has also done a dot painting for the community store which shows the food coming in, money changing hands, and all the workers in the store. Malya says he never paints little boards as there is not enough room on them to tell a story. Other men in the Mutitjulu community, except Charlie Peipei, paint little paintings. Kunbry and Impana also do big ones. For the tourists, Malya usually paints tjala and maku; and history painting, saying 'If they like history, I’ll make history.’
He also paints the Seven Sisters story and liru (snake) Dreamings. He sometimes paints his father’s story (kuniya), a Dreaming which comes across Uluru way. He says tourists are interested in the story, they want to learn, 'Every canvas, I tell story. Some Anangu paint it and sell it, and don’t tell story; just painting for money’. Malya’s wife assists in the painting process. Malya paints the Tjukurrpa and some colour; his wife does the colour background and the outlines of the design; then they both do the dots. It takes him about three days to do a large painting. His daughter also paints occasionally. Malya is a particularly active member of the Mutitjulu community and has travelled widely throughout Australia to speak on Anangu issues.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2011
