Ngayuku Walka / My Design
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
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Ngayuku Walka / My Design
Walka means design or pattern. Artists use this title to describe artworks that are pattern based rather than descriptive or telling a story.
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Itara – Eucalyptus
Melissa is depicting the leaves of the Itara tree, a type of Eucalyptus, that provides much greenery and shade around community.
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Djomi (Fresh Water Spirit)
This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djómi (Fresh Water Spirit).
The Djómi figure is a mermaid-like spirit with fish tail that lives in the freshwater stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djómi is known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.
“If you go there, you can get pregnant easily. Djómi has babies, and they can give other babies too. The Djómi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djómi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djómi. Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men are too scared of that Djómi. When we visit the Djómi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djómi crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djómi spirits. They are looking for a mother. This Djómi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djungkay (ritual manager) to paint this Djómi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way. This design also depicts the freshwater lily leaves and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.” Joy Galrbin
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Djomi (Fresh Water Spirit)
This design depicts the story of the artist’s ancestral dreaming, the Djómi (Fresh Water Spirit).
The Djómi figure is a mermaid-like spirit with fish tail that lives in the freshwater stream that flows out to the sea cliff near Maningrida. Djómi is known to be a very powerful fertility symbol.
“If you go there, you can get pregnant easily. Djómi has babies, and they can give other babies too. The Djómi spirit is so powerful, that women can end up with multiple babies at once, twins or sometimes even more. The Djómi spirits lay eggs near the sacred freshwater stream in Maningrida. Inside the eggs are human babies as well as young Djómi. Men do not go near that swamp, because Djomi is so powerful that men might get pregnant there too. So men are too scared of that Djómi. When we visit the Djómi freshwater spring, we can hear young Djómi crying. They sound like normal babies crying, those Djómi spirits. They are looking for a mother. This Djómi is my dreaming, I got permission from my djungkay (ritual manager) to paint this Djómi design. For me I always ask my djunguy permission to paint, because that is our cultural way. This design also depicts the freshwater lily leaves and seaweed from the base of the sea floor.” Joy Galrbin
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Strong Family Connection
This is a story of how life was before. It’s a beautiful landscape without problems like we have today. There were no problems then, people were happy. They were connected as families. It shows what life was like for our people in the past before we had houses. Everything was silent, and all the animals were close by to the people. Everyone looked after the animals and the environment. People don’t have that life anymore.
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Atila – Derek’s Story
Atila or Mount Conner is located in Pitjantjatjara country just north of the APY Lands. It is also known as Fooluru as it often gets mistaken for Uluru.
Atila is my Uncle’s Country. That mountain got a lot of secret stories. Seven Sisters goes through there, but it’s a secret and I don’t tell it, it’s only for the old men. I’ve been there to see the Country and walk around it, but white people can’t go there, they can only take photos from the road.
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Kipara – Bush Turkey
Ngunytjima says: That’s where we go for hunting. We look around everywhere for that kipara (bush turkey). It’s good kuka (meat).
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Jeffrey’s Birds
Jeffrey paints his favourite birds that live in the country around Ernabella. These include the kuparu (magpie), partilpa (Port Lincoln ringed neck parrot), kayarkiyarpa (galah), tjintir-tjintirpa (willy wag-tail), piil-piilpa (yellow throated minor) and kuurkuurpa (owls).
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Ngayuku Ngura – My Country
Artists use this title when they are depicting their Country. It might be a representation of a particular place or of different aspects of that area. The artist uses a combination of colour and design to indicate variations in the landscape. Inspiration is drawn from all elements of Country and might include bush tucker, water holes, meeting places, rock formation, birds or animals.