Molly Napurrurla Martin, Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming) - Cockatoo Creek, 76x46cm

• Artist - Molly Napurrurla Martin
• Community - Nyirripi  
• Art Centre/Community organisation - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 770-13ny   
• Materials - Acrylic on linen  
• Size(cm) - H76 W46 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted un-stretched and rolled for safe shipping

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 strait lines. ‘Karlangu’are used by women to dig for bush tucker like Yarla and Wapirti which are found underground.

Molly Napurrurla Martin was born many years ago at Granites, which is 300 km north-west of Yuendum and where there is now an operating gold mine. Molly was educated in the tradition aboriginal way, going bush and learning about country. Her mother Lorna Napurrurla Williams (Dec) painted with Warlukurlangu Artists in the 80s and 90s. She had a brother Timmy who has passed away and a big brother, Leo who lives in Alice Springs. Molly now lives in Nyirripi, where she is cared for by her granddaughters Corrie and Lorraine. Molly painted intermittently in the 80s and 90s but since 2007 has painted consistently with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km from Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. Molly paints her Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming) and Ngurlu Jukurrpa (Native Seed Dreaming), Dreamings from her father’s side. These stories are passed down through the generations for millennia. When Molly is not painting she likes to go hunting with family and friends for goanna.

Molly passed away in 2014.

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