This is a beautiful Aboriginal Jukurrpa (dreaming story) by P Andrea and Kathleen
Nungarray Martin P. Both artist are a part of the Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu, a prominent Aboriginal owned art center in Central Australia. Motiffs and iconographic elements are painted first to depict a story. The artists’ bold use of orange and red dominate the piece; white and black introduce great accents. The wood frame is scored for texture and is painted in a dark brown. This piece is a great size and would add a blast of both color and interest to any interior. Acquired in 1994 by collector Richard Kelton, Santa Monica CA from the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corp. retaining the original catalog number 231/94
From the Warlukurlangu website:
“Warlukurlangu Artists is one of the oldest and most successful Aboriginal-owned art centres in Central Australia. It has a national and international profile and its art has been featured in hundreds of exhibitions and publications in Australia and around the world. Warlukurlangu means ‘belonging to fire’ in the local language, Warlpiri, and is named after a fire dreaming site west of Yuendumu.”
“Traditionally, artists painted Jukurrpa (dreaming story), ensuring appropriate Warlpiri relationships of kirda (owners) and kurdugurlu (guardians) were followed and the images reflected the social and cultural obligations present in ceremonies and day-to-day life in the community. The kurawarri, the iconographic elements of a painting that held the story, were painted first and scrutinized by others for their adherence to Jukurrpa. The dotting that filled the canvases was less important, and many artists developed varying styles of application and experimented with different colours while maintaining a consistency in their presentation of kuruwarri.
Nowadays, the paintings tell the story of the artists connection to their country, the features of the landscape, the plants and animals that are found there and the creation myth that occurred in the Dreamtime. These stories are still very relevant to the artists today. Artists have their own particular styles or palettes, and constantly experiment and vary their paintings, so the works are constantly evolving.”
