12 AM 8499/12
Jakayu Biljabu Puntayarra and Minarri 2011
Acrylic on linen 760 x 1520mm $4880
Puntayarra and Minarri are two of the names for grasses that the artists use to make baskets. In the Pujiman time (Bush
days) the artist travelled with her family through the land collecting wiylki (seeds) just as the Minyi Purru (Seven sisters) did
in the Jukurrpa (dream time). Now they collect grass for baskets as well. Some of the special places the grasses grow in the
artist�s country are Wangkakarlu, Turngul, Matilirri, Wantili, Nyilangkurr and Warrki. Within the painting the circles
encompass a few different layers of meaning. They work as a type of map showing the special areas where grasses and
wiylki can be found. Often they also symbolise different waterholes or camps. They are also metaphorical of the time spent
travelling through the landscape, all the different times and colours as are the baskets, the idea that the weaving is like the
times spent travelling, place to place as the mythical sisters did a long long time ago.