Pamela Napurrurla Walker, Karnta Jukurrpa (Womens Dreaming), 30x30cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Pamela Napurrurla Walker
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Aboriginal Art Centre- Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 6746/21
• Materials - Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas  
• Size(cm) - H30 W30 D3.5  
• Postage variants - Artwork posted pre-stretched and ready to hang
• 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).

Pamela Napurrurla Walker was born in 1957 at Mt Doreen Station, an extensive cattle breeding station about 55 km west of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory 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. Pamela finished Primary School at the local School in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs, where has lived most of her life. However, she lived in Nyrripi for 2 years where she also has family. She has two daughters and many nieces and nephews.

Pamela has been working with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu since 1994 but it wasn’t until 2006 that she began to paint full time. She paints her father’s jurkurrpa, Dreamings which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories were told to her by her father, stories that have been passed down through the millennia.

Pamela’s paintings have strong iconic themes that are colourful and bold. When Pamela is not painting or looking after her family she likes to go hunting, especially for bush potato.