Critic's Choice
Author & critic Susan McCulloch's selection from stock

33 AM 6482/09
Shorty Jangala Robertson   Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming)-Puyurru   2009
Acrylic on Belgian linen   1220 x 910mm   $7700
The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek beds are water soakages or
naturally occurring wells. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. It travelled across the
country, with the lightning striking the land. This storm met up with another storm from Wapurtali, to the west, was picked
up by a ‘kirrkarlan’ (brown falcon [Falco berigora]) and carried further west until it dropped the storm at Purlungyanu,
where it created a giant soakage. At Puyurru the bird dug up a giant snake, ‘warnayarra’ (the ‘rainbow serpent’) and the
snake carried water to create the large lake, Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country. This story belongs to Jangala
men and Nangala women.
    
In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other
elements. In many paintings of this Jukurrpa curved and straight lines represent the ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters) running through
 the landscape. Motifs frequently used to depict this story include small circles representing ‘mulju’ (water soakages) and
short bars depicting ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds).