Wardapi Jukurrpa (Goanna Dreaming) - Yarripilangu - Original Art

This is an original artwork by artist - Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer, a member of the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation.

Additional canvas around the edge of the painting allows for stretching.

Artwork measures - 61 x 46 cm

This original artwork is unframed and shipped rolled up to your door! We have very competitive framing options on our site - see tab below to get a free online quote. 

A stamped certificate of authenticity is supplied by Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation with this artwork.

Warlukurlangu Artists is famous for its gloriously colourful acrylic paintings and limited edition prints. The Aboriginal art centre has a national and international profile and its art has been featured in hundreds of exhibitions and publications in Australia and around the world. Warlukurlangu means ‘belonging to fire’ in the local language, Warlpiri, and is named for a fire dreaming site west of Yuendumu.

Established in 1985 Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation is a not-for-profit organisation that is 100% Aboriginal-owned by its artists from the remote desert communities of Yuendumu and Nyirripi in Central Australia. Proceeds from the sale of all art go directly back to the artists and their community projects. Warlukurlangu Artists is supported by funding from the Australian Government through the Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support.

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ARTWORK STORY:

This painting depicts a ‘wardapi Jukurrpa’ (sand monitor/goanna
[Varanus gouldii] Dreaming). This dramatic Jukurrpa travels between
Purturlu (Mount Theo), approximately 150kms north-northwest of
Yuendumu, and Yarripilangu (Newhaven), which is approximately 100
kms southwest of Yuendumu. This painting focuses on the portion of the
Jukurrpa that takes place at Yarripilangu, which is owned by
Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women and Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men. The portion
of the Jukurrpa at Purturlu belongs to Napanangka/Napangardi women
and Japanangka/Japangardi men.

This Jukurrpa tells the story of a Japangardi man named Wamaru who
lived at Jarrardajarrayi, an area of country near Purturlu. This
Japangardi man lived at Jarrardajarrayi near a soakage called
Juntangkalpa. He travelled south to Yarripilangu and approached a
group of ‘karnta’ (women) that were sitting down in a circle there. He
wanted to woo a Nungarrayi woman named Yurlkurinyi who was the
wrong skin for him. By tribal law, this woman was his mother-in-law and
their relationship would be taboo.

The Japangardi man wooed the Nungarrayi woman and they went up
the hill at Yarripilangu where they made love. The earth there turned to
‘ngunjungunju’ (white ochre) and the man turned himself and all the
‘karnta’ (women) into ‘wardapi’ (goannas). The Japangardi man
eventually brought the Nungarrayi woman back to Purturlu to live, even
though they were the wrong skin for each other.

White ochre is still found on top of the hill at Yarripilangu and is used
today for love magic and for ceremonial decoration. There’s also a cave
where you can see the shape of a goanna entering. There are beautiful
groundwater springs on the east side of the Yarripilangu hill. A number
of important Jukurrpa associated with mens’ initiation ceremonies pass
through Yarripilangu; these include ‘karnta Jukurrpa’ (womens’
Dreaming), ‘ngalyipi Jukurrpa’ (snakevine [Tinospora smilacina]
Dreaming), ‘wati-jarra Jukurrpa’ (two men Dreaming), and ‘witi Jukurrpa’
(ceremonial pole Dreaming).

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography can be used
to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites, and other elements. In
paintings of this Jukurrpa, the group of women is often represented by
concentric circles and ‘U’ shapes. Concentric circles can also illustrate
‘wardapi’ holes and the droppings they leave, while ‘wardapi’ tracks are
usually represented by ‘W’ shapes.