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When the World was Soft

According to Yindjibarndi law, in the beginning the sky was very low. When the creation spirits, Marrga (The Spirit God of The Land), arose from the ground they raised the sky and the world out of the ocean. This creation story is called Ngurra Nyujunnggamu (When the World was Soft). The Marrga (The Spirit God of The Land) gave names and form to the country and then to all the birds and animals, finally they created the Ngardangarli (The Aboriginal People). This is a dream time story handed down by our ancestors. The blue and red in this painting represent healing circles. The blue in between is the river system winding through.

Categories: Yinjaa-Barni Art

Name: Janice Sandy

Language: Yindjibarndi

Biography:

Janice was born in 1970 at the Roebourne Reserve. Part of the Stolen Generation, she was taken as a baby to a hostel in Perth and wasn’t able to return to her country until 1982. When she returned at twelve, her first language was English. She started learning her Yindjibarndi language when she lived with her grandmother in Roebourne. She attended primary school in Roebourne, Year 8 at the Roebourne Primary School, Year 9 at the Roebourne Development School, and Year 10 at Wickham District High School. Janice liked drawing at school, using colours and painting. When she came to Yinjaa-Barni Art in 2006 she found it hard to paint at first. She said, "I learnt to look at all sorts of different art and how different artists expressed themselves. Then one day I was sitting in the art centre at the back of the church and something just came to me. My eyes just fell onto the animals, onto the patterns on the animals, and I felt I could use those patterns as a base for paintings. I have gradually learnt to communicate with the colours, to integrate animal and land colours that symbolize our paintings, that tie back to our elders, to their stories and to how proud they used to be about their country. I love using really bright colours. And I love painting: it makes me relax and takes all the stress out." Janice tries lots of different materials in her work: sponges, different size brushes, etc to bring out a variety of patterns. She now lives in Karratha with her husband and family. She has two sons, a daughter and a grandson, and is the youngest sister of Allery and Aileen Sandy. She has recently been offered work at the Pegs Creek Primary School.

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