Lyn Nungarrayi Sims, Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa (Seven Sisters Dreaming), 40x40cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Lyn Nungarrayi Sims
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 1443/23
• Materials - Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas
• Size(cm) - H40 W40 D3.5  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted stretched and ready to hang
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

The Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa (seven sisters Dreaming) depicts the story of the seven ancestral Napaljarri sisters who are found in the night sky today in the cluster of seven stars in the constellation Taurus, more commonly known as the Pleiades. The Pleiades are seven women of the Napaljarri skin group and are often depicted in paintings of this Jukurrpa carrying the Jampijinpa man ‘wardilyka’ (the bush turkey [Ardeotis australias]) who is in love with the Napaljarri-warnu and who represents the Orion's Belt cluster of stars. Jukurra-jukurra, the morning star, is a Jakamarra man who is also in love with the seven Napaljarri sisters and is often shown chasing them across the night sky. In a final attempt to escape from the Jakamarra the Napaljarri-warnu turned themselves into fire and ascended to the heavens to become stars. The custodians of the Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa are Japaljarri/Jungarrayi men and Napaljarri/Nungarrayi women. Some parts of the Napaljarri-warnu Jukurrpa are closely associated with men’s sacred ceremonies of a very secretive nature. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. Often depicted in paintings for this Jukurrpa is the female star Yantarlarangi (Venus - the Evening Star) who chases the seven Napaljarri sisters for having stolen the night from her.

Lyn Nungarrayi Sims was born in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is the daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (Dec) and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec), two of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Art Centre, an Aboriginal-owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu. Lynn attended the local school in Yuendumu. She is married and has one son. Over the years she has worked for the Yuendumu Old People's Program, the local Council and Centrelink office. She has been painting with Warlukurlangu Art Centre since 1987. She paints the Jukurrpa stories which have been passed down to her by her father and his fathers before him for millennia. These stories relate directly to the features and animals that are found in her traditional country. When Lyn's not painting she likes to spend time with her grand-children playing and passing on her Jukurrpa stories.

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