Simone Nampijinpa Brown, Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) - Puyurru, 61x30cm

• Aboriginal Artist - Simone Nampijinpa Brown
• Community - Nyirripi
• Aboriginal Art Centre - Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation
• Catalogue number - 1823/18ny
• Materials - Acrylic on canvas
• Size(cm) - H61 W30 D2
• Postage variants - This work is posted rolled for safe shipping
• Orientation - Painted from all sides and OK to hang as wished

The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek beds are ‘mulju’ (soakages), or naturally occurring wells. The 'kirda' (owners) for this site are Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijinpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. The storm travelled across the country from the east to the west, initially travelling with a ‘pamapardu Jukurrpa’ (termite Dreaming) from Warntungurru to Warlura, a waterhole 8 miles east of Yuendumu. At Warlura, a gecko called Yumariyumari blew the storm on to Lapurrukurra and Wilpiri. Bolts of lightning shot out at Wirnpa (also called Mardinymardinypa) and at Kanaralji. At this point the Dreaming track also includes the ‘kurdukurdu mangkurdu Jukurrpa’ (children of the clouds Dreaming). The water Dreaming built hills at Ngamangama using baby clouds and also stuck long pointy clouds into the ground at Jukajuka, where they can still be seen today as rock formations.

The termite Dreaming eventually continued west to Nyirripi, a community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu. The water Dreaming then travelled from the south over Mikanji, a watercourse with soakages northwest of Yuendumu. At Mikanji, the storm was picked up by a ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcon [Falco berigora]) and taken farther north. At Puyurru, the falcon dug up a giant ‘warnayarra’ (rainbow serpent). The serpent carried water with it to create another large lake, Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country. The ‘kirda’ (owners) of this story are Jangala men and Nangala women. After stopping at Puyurru, the water Dreaming travelled on through other locations including Yalyarilalku, Mikilyparnta, Katalpi, Lungkardajarra, Jirawarnpa, Kamira, Yurrunjuku, and Jikaya before moving on into Gurindji country to the north.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to represent the ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming). Short dashes are often used to represent ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds), and longer, flowing lines represent ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters). Small circles are used to depict ‘mulju’ (soakages) and river bed.

Simone Nampijinpa Brown was born in Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal community, approximately 440 km north-west of Alice Springs. Simone is the grand-daughter of Jeanie Napangardi Lewis, an artist who regularly paints with Warlukurlangu Artists. Simone’s interest in painting comes from her grandmother and from watching her grandmother’s husband, Mickey Jampijinpa Singleton, paint. Mickey is also a well-known artist who paints for Warlukurlangu Artists. Simone attends the local school in Nyirripi but already shows an interest in painting her Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which are handed down through her family and which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories have been passed down through generations for millennia. From her grand-mother she paints Karnta Jukurrpa (Women’s Dreaming), dreamings about Mina Mina, country sacred to Napangardi and Napanangka women. Simone has recently begun to paint (2012) for Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu. Warlukurlangu Art Centre provides an outlet for Warlpiri artists to paint their cultural heritage and earn income from their work. This service is extended to Nyirripi artists, on a weekly basis, by delivering canvas and paint to artists and picking up finished artwork in Nyirripi. When Simone is not attending school or painting with her grand-mother she likes to play sport, particularly softball, listen to music and hunt with her family for kangaroo.