Samantha Napurrurla Gibson, Lukarrara Jukurrpa, 91x61cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Samantha Napurrurla Gibson
• Community - Nyirripi  
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation  
• Catalogue number - 2684/20ny
• Materials - Acrylic on linen  
• Size(cm) - H91 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 Jukurrpa belongs to women of the Nakamarra/Napurrurla subsections and to Jakamarra/Jupurrurla men. This Dreaming is associated with a place called Jaralypari, north of Yuendumu. Lukarrara (desert fringe-rush [Fimbristylis oxystachya & Fimbristylis eremophila]) is a grass with an edible seed. The seeds are traditionally ground on a large stone (‘ngatinyanu’) with a smaller stone (‘ngalikirri’) to make flour. This flour is mixed with water (‘ngapa’) to make damper cakes which are cooked and eaten. In Warlpiri traditional paintings iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites and other elements. Large concentric circles often represent the site of Jaralypari and also the seed bearing grass Lukurrara. ‘U’ shapes can depict the Karnta (women) collecting ‘lukarrara’ and straight lines are frequently used to portray seeds that fall down to the ground and are also collected by women using their ‘parrajas’ (wooden food carriers) and ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks). 

Samantha Napurrurla Gibson comes from Nyirripi where she attended a workshop in 2013. She has since left Nyirripi and is now living in Alice Springs.

She paints her Father’s Jukurrpa (Dreamings), in particular Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming).These Dreamings relate directly to the land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. They were passed down to her father by his father and his father’s father before him for millennia. Samantha uses traditional designs and icons with an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.