Reanne Nampijinpa Brown, Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa, 30x30cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Reanne Nampijinpa Brown
• Community - Yuendumu  
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 2590/20
• Materials - Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas
• Size(cm) - H30 W30 D2  
• Postage variants - Artwork stretched and ready to hang
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

The subject of this work is Lappi Lappi, a rock hole near Lake Hazlett, about 90 km northwest of Lake Mackay in Western Australia. The country belongs to Nampijinpa/Jampijinpa and Nangala/Jangala skin groups. Located in a sheltered basin, the rock hole at Lappi Lappi is a permanent source of water, and is surrounded by country rich in bush tucker. In the time of the Jukurrpa (Dreamtime) many mothers with young children would gather there because it was a safe place to stay. The rock hole at Lappi Lappi is home to a ‘warnayarra’, a rainbow serpent that travels underground between various rock holes. One day, women were gathered at the rock hole with their children, singing and dancing. When the ‘warnayarra’ heard the sound of voices, it travelled silently towards them, under the water. When it reached the edge of the rock hole, it rose out of the water and ate them all.

Reanne Nampijinpa Brown was born in 1989 in the Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She has lived in Yuendumu all her life, attending the local school. Reanne is married and has one little boy Jacob. She first painted for Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu, in 2002, when she was thirteen. Warlukurlangu Artists provides an outlet for Warlpiri artists to paint their cultural heritage and earn income from their work. Reanne paints Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) and Pamapardu Jukurrpa (Flying Ant Dreaming) that she has inherited from her father and grandfather's side. These Dreamings relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Her first endeavour into printmaking at Warlukurlangu was in 2006 where she produced her first etching. As a young artist, Reanne enjoys painting for the arts centre and has a promising career ahead.