Remarkable art from the Yuendumu community will be the centre of attention in Artitja Fine Art Gallery’s first exhibition of the year, WARLUKURLANGU | The Art of Yuendumu, which is being held at Earlywork in South Fremantle. The opening night for this exhibition is the 7th of March, and will run until the 30th of March. The prices for these incredible art works are extremely affordable, and some artworks have already been bought. To see all the artwork available to buy, head onto Artitja’s website.
Aboriginal art from Yuendumu is well known for its bright colours and complex, interwoven patterns. It is no coincidence that the exhibition’s opening falls on International Women’s Day, celebrating the talented women artists from this remote community. Artitja has had a long and mutually beneficial partnership with the Warlukurlangu Artists art centre. Director Anna Kanaris has made numerous visits to the community over the past twenty years, and is honoured to have met some of the early painters, now sadly passed, such as Shorty Jangala Robertson, Paddy Japaljarri Stewart and Judy Napangardi Watson.
If you are interested in learning more about this special exhibition, Artitja has full artist profiles of each artists and their works on their e-catalogue on their website. A full list of the artists is at the bottom of this article.
About Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation
Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation is one of the oldest and most successful Aboriginal-owned art centres in Central Australia. Established in 1985, the centre has been producing gloriously coloured Aboriginal art, promoting Indigenous culture and supporting the remote community of Yuendumu. Since the establishment, they have built a remarkable legacy gaining international recognition for its vibrant art and community focused initiatives.
The Yuendumu community lies about 280 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs and has approximately 1000 mainly Warlpiri speaking residents. The Yuendumu painting movement began in the early 1980s, when art materials were distributed following the emergence of the Desert art movement at Papunya. Their motivation was strong and clear-sighted. They could see their children were being taught whitefella ways and wanted to make sure the kids had something to constantly remind them of their cultural heritage, so they painted the Dreaming stories, the Jukurrpa, on the doors of the school. This was the beginning of the Aboriginal art movement at Yuendumu.
Artists in profile
Athena Nangala Granites
Athena was born in 1994 in Alice Springs. She has lived most of her life in Yuendumu, attending the local school and graduating from Senior Girls Upper School in 2009. Although young, Athena comes from a long line of artists.
Athena is the daughter of Geraldine Napangardi Granites and the grand-daughter of Alma Nungarrayi Granites (dec), well-known artists who paint with Warlukurlangu Artists. She is also the great grand-daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (dec) one of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists.
Athena has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Corporation since 2010. She paints Jukurrpa from her father’s side (Ngapa Jukurrpa–Water Dreaming) and her mother’s side (Ngalyipi Jukurrpa–Snake Vine Dreaming and Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa–Seven Sisters Dreaming), stories which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Athena uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.
Debbie Napaljarri Brown
Debbie was born in Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal community 400 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. Debbie has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, since 2006 and in 2010 Debbie moved to Yuendumu, 160 km east of Nyirripi.
Her Grandmother, Margaret Napangardi Brown, also an artist with the art centre, taught her to paint. Her Grandfather is the renowned Pintupi artist Pegleg Tjampitjinpa. Debbie would watch her grandmother and grandfather paint and listen to her Grandmother’s Jukurrpa or Dreaming stories. In her paintings, Debbie paints her father’s Jukurrpa (dreamings) which relate directly to her land, its features, plants and animals.
The Wanakiji Jukurrpa (bush tomato Dreaming ) travels through Yaturlu (north of Yuendumu). “Wanakiji” grows in open spinifex country and is a small, prickly plant with purple flowers that bears green fleshy fruit with many small black seeds. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites and other elements.
Sabrina Nangala Robertson
Sabrina was born in Alice Springs. She is the daughter of the acclaimed Aboriginal artist Dorothy Napangadi. Sabrina grew up in Yuendumu and went to the local school. She now alternates between living in Yuendumu and Alice Springs. She has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists since 2005.
Sabrina has exhibited in Australia and in France. Her artwork focuses on stories passed down to her by her father and her father’s father before her for millennia. Her works, entitled ‘Water Dreaming’ feature Pirlinyarnu (Mt Farewell), its features and the plants and animals that in habit it. The Water Dreaming story relates to how two Jangala men, who were rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm that collided with another storm from Warpurtali. A ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcom) dropped the water at Pirlinyarnu where it formed an enormous maluri (claypan). A mulju (soakage) exists in the place today.
Full list of artists
A complete list of all artists whose work will be featuring is below:
1. Athena Nangala Granites
2. Nathania Nangala Granites
3. Reanne Nampijinpa Brown
4. Antonia Napangardi Michaels
5. Kasey Anne Nampijinpa Gallagher
6. Debbie Napaljari Brown
7. Priscilla Napurrurla Herbert
8. Sylvannia Nungarrayi Spencer
9. Helen Nungarrayi Reed
10. Portia Napanangka Michaels
11. Tasha Nampijinpa Collins
12. Saraeva Napangardi Marshall
13. Patricia Nakamara Oldfield
14. Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer
15. Peggy Napurrurla Granites
16. Stephanie Napurrurla Nelson
17. Kaylene Nungurrayi Brown
18. Sabrina Nangala Robertson
19. Julie Nangala Robertson
