Water dreaming – Puyurru - Australia

Painted in 2009.

The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek bed are water soakages or naturally occurring wells. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. It travelled across the country, with the lightning striking the. This storm met up with another storm from Wapurtali, to the west and was picked up by a ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcon [Falco berigora]) and carried further west until it dropped the storm at Purlungyanu, where it created a giant soakage. At Puyurru the bird dug up a giant snake, ‘warnayarra’ (the Rainbow Serpent). The snake carried water with it to create a large lake named Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country.

 

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. In many paintings of this Jukurrpa curved and straight lines represent the ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters) running through the landscape. Motifs frequently used to depict this story include small circles representing ‘mulju’ (water soakages) and short bars depicting ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds).

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity

Born: 14/03/1992

Skin Name: Napaljarri

Country: Kunajarrayi, Northern Territor

Group: Warlpiri

 

Biography

Karen Napaljarri Barnes was born in Lajamanu, a remote Aboriginal community in semi-arid country on the edge of the Tanami Desert 1000km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She moved to Yuendumu, 700km south, after finishing school in Lajamanu, to be with her family.

She has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed Art Centre, since 2001. She is the grand-daughter of Warlukurlangus's famous artist Judy Napangardi Watson and they would sit together painting at the Art Centre every day when Karen first started painting.

Karen paints the dreaming stories handed down to her by her family for generations of millenia, stories which come from Mina Mina, country west of Yuendumu of which her family are the custodians. She also paints Karnta Jukurrpa (Women’s Dreaming), Wakulyarri Jukurrpa (Wallaby Dreaming), Ngarlajiyi Jukurrpa (Bush Carrot Creaming).

Karen loves sport, especially basketball and softball, and is an avid football spectator, barracking for Lajamanu.

 

Medium

Acrylic on canvas

 

Themes

Karnta Jukurrpa (womens dreaming)

Ngarlajirri Jukurrpa (bush carrot dreaming)

Wakulyarri Jukurrpa (wallaby dreaming)

Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina dreaming)