Nicole Napaljarri Stevens, Karnta Jukurrpa (Womens Dreaming), 107x61cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Nicole Napaljarri Stevens
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 7798/22
• Materials - Acrylic paint on linen 
• Size(cm) - H107 W61 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 Nakamarra and Napurrurla women hunting for bush foods. The ‘kirda’ (owners) for this story are Nakamarra/Napurrurla women and Jakamarra/Jupurrurla men. Yumurrpa and Wapurtali are two major Dreaming sites owned by the Nakamarra/Jakamarra and Napurrurla/Jupurrurla subsections; these sites are also associated with bush food Dreamings. Yumurrpa is a major waterhole to the northwest of Yuendumu and a ‘yarla’ (bush potato [Ipomea costata]) Dreaming site. The area north of Wapurtali/Yintaramurru (Mt. Singleton) is a ‘wanakiji’ (bush tomato [Solanum chippendalei]) Dreaming site.

Warlpiri women hunt for a number of different bush foods at different times of the year. These include ‘ngarlkirdi’ (witchetty grubs [Endoxyla leucomochla larvae]), ‘yunkaranyi’ (honey ants [Camponotus inflatus]), ‘jintiparnta’ and ‘purlantarri’ (desert truffle [Elderia arenivaga]), ‘yuparli’ (bush bananas [Marsdenia australis]), ‘janmarda’ (bush onions [Cyperus bulbosus]), ‘pirlala’ (bush beans [Acacia coriacea seeds]), ‘ngarlajiyi’ (bush carrots [Vigna lanceolata]), ‘wayipi’ (small bush carrots [Boerhavia diffusa]), and ‘yakajirri’ (bush raisins [Solanum centrale]). Women traditionally dug for these foods using wooden ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks). The end of the digging sticks were charred and ground on a stone surface to create a bevelled edge. Today many Warlpiri women use crowbars (also called ‘karlangu’) to dig for bush foods. Collected bush foods are traditionally carried in ‘parraja’ (coolamons), which can be carried with a strap made from the ‘ngalyipi’ (snake vine [Tinospora smilacina]).

In Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa and other elements. Concentric circles are often used to represent the bush foods that the women have collected, while straight lines can be used to depict the ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks). Sinuous lines are often used to represent the ‘ngalyipi’ (snake vine).

Nicole Napaljarri Stevens was born in 1995 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Papunya, a remote Aboriginal community 246 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She grew up in Papunya, first attending the local school then completing her secondary school education in Alice Springs. Nicole is married to the son of Agnes Nampijinpa Fry, a well-known Yuendumu artist living in Yuendumu. Nicole met and married her husband when he was living in Papunya. They moved to Yuendumu in 2019.                                                                

Nicole has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2019. She paints her Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) - Mikanji – a water course west of Yuendumu. The Jukurrpa or “Dreaming” is the basis of Aboriginal culture and law, and the telling of the Jukurrpa, passed down through the generations for millennia, through art keeps the spirit of the Dreaming alive. Nicole uses different techniques to incorporate different aspects of her Jukurrpa, into her paintings, using a creative combination to blend traditional motifs with her own ideas of modern design. 

When not painting, Nicole spends time with her husband, friends, and family out bush, visiting Papunya or participating in Community events.