Linda Napurrurla Walker, Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming) - Cockatoo Creek, 30x30cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Linda Napurrurla Walker
• Community - Yuendumu
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 1764/22
• Materials - Acrylic paint on pre-stretched canvas  
• Size(cm) - H30 W30 D3.5
• Postage variants - Artwork posted stretched and ready to hang
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

This Yarla Jukurrpa belongs to men of the Japaljarri/Jungarrayi subsections and to Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. It comes from an area to the east of Yuendumu called Cockatoo Creek. ‘Yarla’ (bush potato [Ipomea costata]) are fibrous tubers that grow beneath a low spreading plant, found by looking for cracks in the ground. This edible tuber grows from ‘yartura’ (roots) which seek out moisture to spout new plants. Yarla are good to eat, when cooked they are really soft and tasty. The Jukurrpa tells of ‘yarla’ and ‘wapirti’ (bush carrot [Vigna lanceolata]) ancestors fighting a big battle in this area. The specific site associated with this painting is a ‘mulju’ (water soakage) called Ngarparapunyu. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. The curved lines of the ‘kuruwarri’ (ceremonial designs) represent the ‘ngamarna’ (vine-like tendrils) from which grow ‘jinjirla’ (flowers). ‘Karlangu’ (digging sticks) are usually represented as straight lines. ‘Karlangu’are used by women to dig for bush tucker like Yarla and Wapirti which are found underground.

Linda Napurrurla Walker was born in 1973 in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in NT of Australia. She was born into a large Warlpiri family and has three brothers and six sisters. Her father, Towser Jakamarra Walker (Dec) was not only one of the senior men in the Warlpiri community at Yuendumu but also a well-known artist who painted for Warlukurlangu Artists. Both her parents have passed away. Linda finished Primary School at the local Yuendumu School. She married Calvin Jungarray Martin and they would often paint together. However she has since divorced him and is now married to Patrick Japanangka Marshal. Linda has no children from either marriage. Linda has lived in Yuendumu for most of her life and worked for the local Commonwealth Employment Program doing jobs around the community. However, in 2009 Linda moved to Alice Springs to look after her two sisters, niece and her little grandson. Linda has her own house at Warlpiri Camp in Alice Springs where they all live. Linda still works with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu and she often visits the art centre to drop off paintings and collect canvas, paint and brushes. Linda has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists since the early 1980’s. She paints her father’s Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which include Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming), Ngarlajiyi Jukurrpa (Bush Carrot Dreaming) and Janganpa Jukurrpa (Native Possum Dreaming), stories that have been passed down to her by her father and that depict her father’s country south west of the Tanami. Linda’s paintings have strong iconic themes that are strong, colourful and bold. When Linda is not painting or looking after her family she likes to get on the Internet to talk to her friends.

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