Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) - Mikanji - Original Art

This is an original artwork by artist - Juliette Nampijinpa Brown, a member of the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation.

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

Artwork measures - 30 x 30 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:

The country associated with this 'ngapa Jukurrpa' (water Dreaming) is
Mikanji, a watercourse west of Yuendumu that is usually dry. There are
‘mulju’ (soakages) in this creek bed. The 'kirda' (owners) of this
Dreaming site are Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijinpa
men. Mikanji is an important water Dreaming site, and features in at
least three different water Dreaming tracks.

In one story, the water Dreaming travelled from Puyurru, northwest of
Yuendumu, to a ‘mulju’ ( soakage) in the Mikanji creek. It unleashed a
huge storm there. Two old blind women of the Nampijinpa skin group
were sitting by the side of the soakages. As the two women strained
their eyes to see the sky, tears formed in their eyes, creating the rain.
Their spirits can still be seen at Mikanji in the form of two ‘ngapiri’ (river
red gums) growing near the soakage.

A second water Dreaming track that passes through Mikanji is also
owned by the Nangala/Jangala and Nampijinpa/Jampijinpa subsections,
and travels further west. At Mikanji, the storm rained so hard it created a
hole in the ground which became a soakage. At Mirawarri a ‘kirrkarlanji’
(brown falcon [Falco berigora]) picked up the storm and carried it on its
wings to the west until it became too heavy for it. The falcon eventually
dropped the storm at Pirlinyarnu (Mt. Farewell) about 165 km west of
Yuendumu, where it formed an enormous ‘maluri’ (claypan). A ‘mulju’
(soakage) exists in this place today.

A third Dreaming track that passes through Mikanji is the story of the
water Dreaming and ‘pamapardu Jukurrpa’ (termite Dreaming). This
Dreaming travels further north. This water Dreaming is owned by
Nakamarra/Napurrurla women and Jakamarra/Jupurrurla men. The
termite and water Dreamings travelled together from Warntungurru in
the east past Warlura (a waterhole 8 miles east of Yuendumu), Wirnpa,
Kanaralji, Ngamangama, and Jukajuka. A portion of this Dreaming track
also includes the ‘kurdukurdu mangkurdu Jukurrpa’ (children of the
clouds Dreaming). The termite Dreaming moved on to the west to
Nyirrpi, a community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu, whereas
the water Dreaming travelled on to Mikanji. A ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcon)
eventually picked up the water and tied it to its head using hairstring.
The falcon travelled north with the water Dreaming; at Puyurru, it flew
under a tree and the water fell off of its head, forming a soakage there.
The Dreaming then travelled on through other locations including
Yalyarilalku, Mikilyparnta, Katalpi, Lungkardajarra, Jirawarnpa, Kamira,
Yurrunjuku, and Jikaya before moving on into Gurindji country to the
north.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to
represent the ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming), associated sites, and other
elements. In many paintings of this Dreaming, short dashes are often
used to represent ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds), and
longer, flowing lines represent ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters). Small circles
are used to depict ‘mulju’ (soakages) and river beds.