Water Dreaming by Sabrina Granites
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| Artist: | Sabrina Granites |
| Title: | Water Dreaming |
| Medium: | Acrylic on belgian linen |
| Size: | 60 X 60cm |
| Code: | 5365 |
SABRINA NAPANGARDI GRANITES
Sabrina Napangardi Granites is the daughter of Alma Nungarrayi Granites and the grand-daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims and Bessie Nakamarra Sims, two of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu. Yuendumu is a remote Aboriginal community located 290 kms north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. The art centre is one of the oldest, continually operating art centres in the Central Desert of Australia.
Sabrina was born in 1972 in Yuendumu and attended the local school. She is married and has two daughters whom she is raising. Sabrina has been painting with the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation since 1997. She paints the Dreaming stories passed to her from her grandfather and grandmother. They include Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming); Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa (Women’s Dreaming); and Ngalyipi Jukurrpa (Snake Vine Dreaming). She has worked for the art centre helping with distributing canvas, paints and brushes. Occasionally she goes hunting with her family around Yuendumu collecting bush foods.
WATER DREAMING
Water is of utmost importance for the survival of desert dwelling tribes. It is of little surprise that water is celebrated in numerous men ands women’s ceremonies, and depictions on canvas.
Water dreaming paintings can show women sitting discussing the water dreaming sites, or preparing for a water ceremony; men travelling to water soakage sites; paintings may depict designs associated with the water sites; or they may depict rain making ceremonies and waterhole rituals. Men and women depict rain-dreaming stories differently. A man’s water or rain dreaming painting can represent the elements of rain, lightening and thunder in a storm, whereas women are more likely to show ceremonial aspects.
A custodian of water dreaming will have important ceremonial duties including a particular responsibility for rainmaking, especially during times of drought in the desert. After the rains, the dry claypans fill up and overflow to become rivers and eventually water completely covers the landscape, bringing a range of wildlife, flora and fauna.
Water Dreaming paintings may also be an aerial depiction of the country-side, similar to a map. Concentric circles can represent the main water holes of an area. Some of these remain full of water at all times of the year as they are fed by underground streams (represented by meandering lines between circles), whereas others are simply water containers which hold the water after heavy rains have fallen, but will eventually dry up
Digital Finery.