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Untitled

This is Lorna’s Country- her ‘ngurra’ (home Country, camp). People identify with their ngurra in terms of specific rights and responsibilities, and the possession of intimate knowledge of the physical and cultural properties of one’s Country. Painting ngurra, and in so doing sharing the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories and physical characteristics of that place, has today become an important means of cultural maintenance. 

Though Lorna was born in the Port Hedland hospital and she attended school from a young age, she still lived a somewhat traditional pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) lifestyle, travelling in the Country between Marble Bar and Roebourne with ‘nomad people’. Today Lorna lives in Warralong Aboriginal community, 50km north of Marble Bar.

Portrayed in this work are features of Lorna’s ngurra, such as the dominant permanent red tali (sandhills), warta (trees, vegetation), and the individually named water sources she and her family camped at.

Name: Lorna Linmurra


Community: Warralong


Biography:

“I was born in Hedland hospital. I grew up, Marble Bar area, we were staying there with nomad people, I was going to school. Nomad people would take us everywhere. We then went to Roebourne, everywhere we go. I started working making tins for lollies, for a few years I did. We didn’t know anything [then], we were young people"

- Lorna Linmurra

Lorna was born in Port Hedland. In more recent years she moved to Warralong Community with her family, where she remains today. Warralong community is located 120 kilometres south east of Port Hedland and 50 kilometres north of Marble Bar in the Pilbara. The community lies between the Shaw and De Grey Rivers.


© the artist / art centre