Sebastian Jupurrurla Wilson, Wardapi Jukurrpa (Goanna Dreaming) - Yarripilangu, 76x76cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Sebastian Jupurrurla Wilson
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Art centre catalogue number - 2141/26
• Materials - Professional artist acrylic on Belgian linen
• Size(cm) - H76 W76 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

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 100kms 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.

Sebastian Jupurrurla Wilson was born in 1990 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs. Sebastian attended the local school in Yuendumu. In 2008 he married Athena Nangala Granites who also paints for Warlukurlangu Artists. They live and work in Yuendumu and have one son, ‘Little Henry Peterson Wilson’. His mother and siblings ( he has one brother and four sisters) live in Alice Springs. Sebastian has been painting for Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu, since 2010. He married into a long time artist family and is keen to learn as much as he can about painting and about his Jukurrpa stories. He also works at the Warlukurlangu art centre, helping with mixing paint and stretching canvases. He paints his father’s Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which relate directly to his land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories were passed down to him by his father and his father’s father before him for millennia. Sebastian uses traditional designs and icons with an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of his traditional culture. When he is not working or painting he likes to go hunting with his ‘big brother’ and his cousins.