Sarah Napaljarri Simms, Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming) - Ngalyipi, 76x61cm

This ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming) comes from Mina Mina, a very important women’s Dreaming site far to the west of Yuendumu near Lake Mackay and the WA border. The ‘kirda’ (owners) of this Dreaming are Napangardi/Napanangka women and Japangardi/Japanangka men; the area is sacred to Napangardi and Napanangka women. There are a number of ‘mulju’ (water soakages) and a ‘maluri’ (clay pan) at Mina Mina.

In the Dreamtime, ancestral women danced at Mina Mina and ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks) rose up out of the ground. The women collected the digging sticks and then travelled on to the east, dancing, digging for bush tucker, collecting ‘ngalyipi’ (snake vine [Tinospora smilacina]), and creating many places as they went. ‘Ngalyipi’ is a rope-like creeper that grows up the trunks and limbs of trees, including ‘kurrkara’ (desert oak [Allocasuarina decaisneana]). It is used as a ceremonial wrap and as a strap to carry ‘parraja’ (coolamons) and ‘ngami’ (water carriers). ‘Ngalyipi’ is also used to tie around the forehead to cure headaches, and to bind cuts.

The women stopped at Karntakurlangu, Janyinki, Parapurnta, Kimayi, and Munyuparntiparnti, sites spanning from the west to the east of Yuendumu. When they stopped, the women dug for bush foods like ‘jintiparnta’ (desert truffle [Elderia arenivaga]). The Dreaming track eventually took them far beyond Warlpiri country. The track passed through Coniston in Anmatyerre country to the east, and then went on to Alcoota and Aileron far to the northeast of Yuendumu and eventually on into Queensland.

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

Sarah Napaljarri Sims was born in 1988 in Derby Hospital, the closest hospital to Balgo, a remote Aboriginal community in Western Australia, linked with both the Great Sandy Desert and the Tanami Desert. Her Mum was from Balgo and her Dad from Nyirripi, another remote Aboriginal community approx. 660 km north-east from Balgo.  Sara lived with her parents in Balgo until she was thirteen years old, when her Mum passed away. Her father, Evan Jungarrayi Sims moved back to Nyirripi, where Sara’s Grandmother, Bessie Nakamarra Sims (1931-2012) raised her. Sarah began her schooling in Balgo and finished it in Nyirripi. After she left school she travelled, visiting family in Kintore and Balgo, before returning to Nyirripi where she now lives. She is a single Mum with one son, born in 2010.

Sarah began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, in 2013. The Art Centre makes regular visits to Nyirripi to drop off canvas, paint and brushes for the artists and to collect finished artwork.  She paints her Grandmother’s Jukurrpa, stories about women’s ceremony held near Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs). ”I use to watch my grandmother paint and listen to her stories.”  These stories have been passed down through generations for millennia and relate directly to the land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Sara finds painting relaxing and uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

When Sarah is not painting she enjoys her home and is ‘house proud’ creating a clean home to share with family and friends, especially when watching TV. On weekends she sometimes goes hunting with her family.