Warnu Jukurrpaby Valma Nakamarra White

The place depicted in this painting is Ngama just south of Yuendumu in Central Australia. The Dreaming belongs to the Nakamarra and Napurrurla women and the Jakamarra and Japurrurla men. The story describes the journey of Yarripiri, an ancestral Warnu (Snake). He travelled from place to place through the territories of Ngapanangka-Jarra finally arriving at Ngama. Yarripiri was sad as his family had left him behind at Wirnparrku, he was blind and crippled but he was determined to find them. He has to be carried by Kurdungurla or the ceremonial police of the Dreaming - the Nangala and Nampijinpa women and the Jangala and Jampijinpa men. Where Yarripiri's tail slumped and touched the ground creeks were formed, such as Mijirlparnta, west of Yuendumu. Yarripiri tracks and paths are often represented by arc shapes or curved lines depicted across the canvas.

Artist:Valma Nakamarra White
Title:Warnu Jukurrpa
ID:5803-16
Medium:Acrylic on Canvas
Size:30 x 30 cm
Region:Yuendumu, Central Australia

Artist

Valma Nakamarra White was born in 1997 and comes from Yuendumu Community, approximately 300km from Alice Springs in Central Australia. Valma comes from a long line of artists, her mother is Sabrina Napangardi Granites, her grandmother is Alma Nungarrayi Granites, both of who are established Aboriginal artists who have exhibited around Australia and overseas. Valma has been emersed in her traditional culture, listening to her mother and fathers Dreaming stories while watching her family paint and illustrate these Dreamings.

Valma began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists, a local Aboriginal art centre based in Yuendumu in 2013. She paints her father's Dreaming Warnu Jukurrpa which related to her homeland - Mijirlparnta (Mission Creek). These Dreamings have been passed down through the generations and relate to the land, it's features including plants and animals.

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