Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer, Warlukurlangu Jukurrpa (Fire country Dreaming), 30x30cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer
• Community - Yuendumu
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation
• Catalogue number - 1603/22
• Materials - Acrylic on pre-stretched canvas
• Size(cm) - H30 W30 D3.5
• Postage variants - Artwork posted stretched and ready to hang
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

This Dreaming belongs to Warlukurlangu country to the south-west of Yuendumu, for which Jampijinpa/Jangala men and Nampijinpa/Nangala women have custodial responsibility. An old man ‘lungkarda’ (centralian blue-tongued lizard [Tiliqua multifasciata]), of the Jampijinpa skin group, lived on a hill with his two Jangala sons. The old man would feign blindness and send the two boys hunting in search of meat. While they were gone he would hunt and eat anything that he caught before they returned. One day the sons returned with a kangaroo that they had caught after much tracking. Unfortunately the kangaroo was sacred to the ‘lungkarda’, unbeknown to the boys. In his anger the old man decided to punish his sons and the next time they went out, he put his fire stick to the ground and sent a huge bush fire after them which chased them for many miles, at times propelling them through the air. Although the boys beat out the flames, ‘lungkarda's’ special magic kept the fire alive and it re-appeared out of his blue-tongued lizard hole. Exhausted the boys were finally overcome by the flames. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites and other elements. Usually sites that are depicted in paintings of this Jukurrpa include Warlukurlangu (a men's cave), Kirrkirrmanu (where the sacred kangaroo was killed), Wayililinypa (where the fire killed the two Jangala sons) and Marnimarnu (a water soakage) where the two Jangalas camped.

Ruth Nungarrayi Spencer was born in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 kms north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She has grown up most of her life in Yuendumu. First attending the local school in Yuendumu then moving to Alice Springs where she attended Alice Springs High School. Further studies gave her qualifications to work in administrative work. Ruth has held a number of administrative positions since leaving school. For 13 years she worked with the Community Development Employment Project (CDEP) in Lajamanu before transferring to the Yuendumu Administration Office. She has also worked for Warlpiri Media, CDEP Council, and the Yuendumu Library and is presently working for the Shire Council. She is now married to Raymond Robert Pluto and they have one young son, Korie. Ruth has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since she was a teenager. Her grandfather and grandmother told her the stories of her Jukurrpa (Dreaming) but it was Daisy Napanangka Nelson (1930 – 2001) who also painted with Warlukurlangu Artists, Ruth’s Number two Grandmother or Big Sister (Wendy and Alma Sims) who taught her Yanjirlpirri Jukurpa (Star Dreaming) painting. Ruth often travels and visits family in Lajamanu, Balgo, and Kalkaringi. Aside from painting, Ruth enjoys playing basketball and softball.