Water Dreaming by Jill Nungarrayi
| Artist: | Jill Nungarrayi |
| Title: | Water Dreaming |
| Medium: | Acrylic on linen |
| Size: | 30 X 30cm |
| Code: | 0495 |
Jill Nungarrayi Watson paints for the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation located at the Yuendumu community 300km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. Established in 1985, Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation is a fully Aboriginal owned and governed art centre with over 600 members. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of all art works go directly back to the artists and their community projects.
The art centre is famous for its gloriously colourful acrylic paintings with many of its members work collectable having been featured in hundreds of exhibitions both in Australia and around the world .The art centre is both a stronghold of traditional Warlpiri culture and an essential part of Yuendumu's community life.
By the side of a water soakage two old women of the Nampijinpa skin group were sitting. A rain ancestor travelled there and unleashed a huge storm. As the two women strained their eyes to see the sky, tears formed in their eyes, creating the rain.
In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. In many paintings of this Dreaming 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' (clouds)
Digital Finery.