Description
- Title:
- Medium: Acrylic on pre-primed cotton canvas, stretched
- Year: 2023
- Size: 50 x 92 cm
- Artist skin name: Nampijinpa
- Language group: Warlpiri
- Community: Yuendumu
Story
The title of this painting is Yuendumu, a remote community of Warlpiri people located 300 km north-west of Alice Springs on the Tanami Road.. Three different Jukurrpa (Ancestral Creation Stories) travelled through and created country near Yuendumu and the tracks of the ancestors are shown here.
The ancestors were traveling as animals:
Wardapi the sand goanna (Varanus gouldii) tracks run through the centre.
Marlu the red kangaroo leaves a long footprint and tail mark in the sand and
Yankirri the emu has a distinctive V shaped print with a central toe.
The sand goanna (Varanus gouldii) is a species of large Australian monitor lizard, also known as Gould’s monitor and sand monitor. They can reach a length of 140 cm. The sand goanna excavates large burrows but may also shelter in rock crevices or tree hollows.
Its diet consists mostly of insects, small lizards and mice, but it considers anything smaller than itself prey, including snakes and other lizards.
The red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus) is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest terrestrial mammal native to Australia, and the largest extant marsupial.
The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is Australia’s tallest native bird, reaching between 1.6 m and 1.9 m when standing erect. Adult Emus are covered with shaggy grey-brown feathers except for the neck and head, which are largely naked and bluish-black.
The painting can be displayed portrait or landscape.
The artist
Zeza is an outstanding colourist and has a fine sense of composition. She was originally called Noreen until a relative with that name passed away. In a community it is hurtful to hear the name of a deceased person so they are referred to as Kumunjayi and anyone with the same name can either take a new name or also be called Kumunjayi.
Zeza’s father was Ted Jangala Egan, a renowned tracker and early member of Warlukurlangu Artists of Yuendumu.
The director of Songlines, Felicity Wright (aka Nangala), was the first manager of Warlukurlangu Artists from 1986-88 and is well known to the Egan family. Living and working on Warlpiri country and learning the language and stories was a huge privilege and changed her perspective on life. The Warlpiris introduced her to Indigenous ways of seeing and being in the world. The old men and women ‘grew her up’. She maintains strong connections with the Warlpiri families.