Cotton Tea Towel - Digital Print - 62.5cm x 42.5cm-AAD998

This is the story of the seven sisters. The sisters fled from Wati Nyiru creating the country and landscape around Andrea’s home, Mala. They created the rockhole’s, sandhills and rocky outcrops as they tried to escape. The women flew up into the sky. Now, Wati Nyiru can be seen as Orion in the sky and the sisters are the Pleiades constellation.

Cushion Cover Wool 16in (40cm)-AAD999

Andrea tells us about the seven sisters and their travels through the country as they are pursued by Wati (Man) Nyiru. Nyiru fell in love with the sisters, and even though they were of the wrong skin name, he was desperate to make them his. As the women fled from Wati Nyiru they created the country and landscape around Andrea’s home, Mala.

Cushion Cover Wool 20in (51cm)-BLE611

The country associated with this painting is Mina Mina, a place far west of Yuendumu, significant to Napangardi and Napanangka women who are the custodians of the Jukurrpa that created the area. The Dreaming describes the journey of a group of women of all ages who travelled east gathering food, collecting Ngalyipi (Tinospora smilacina or snake vine) and performing ceremonies as they travelled. The women began their journey at Mina Mina where Karlangu (digging sticks) emerged from the ground. Taking these implements the women travelled east creating Janyinki and other sites. Their journey took them eventually beyond Warlpiri country. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. The primary motif used in paintings of the Jukurrpa are the Karlangu digging sticks which rose up out of the ground at Mina Mina. The women used them to collect bush tucker on their travels. This painting shows the motion of the digging sticks as the women move them to dig.