Acrylic on Belgian linen
180 x 80 cm
This painting depicts the country of Elizabeth’s father. This country
is known as Parwalla and is located far to the south of Balgo in the Gibson
Desert, west of the community of Kiwirrkura. The landscape of the area is dominated
by tali, or sand dunes. The Parwalla area is a huge swampy area, filling with
water after the wet season rain. These wet season rains result in an abundance
of good bush tucker. The majority of the painting shows the different bush
foods, including Kantjili, or bush raisin, and minjili. Women, the ‘U’
shapes, with their wana (digging sticks) and coolimons are also depicted. The
white colour, which dominates the painting represents the spinifex which grows
strong and seeds after the wet season rains.
These seeds are white in colour, and grow so thickly they obscure the ground
and other plants below.
PROVENANCE
Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills, Western Australia, painted 2003,
Catalogue number 632/03
Nyumi currently lives at Kururrungku (Billiluna), an outlying community from
Balgo. Nyumi’s mother belonged to the country of Nynmi (Jupiter Well)
near Kiwirrkura on the Pintupi side. Tragically she died quite young from a
dingo
bite at the Kanari soak water close to Jupiter Well. Her father was from Alyarra
in the region of Natajarra. Nyumi was living a nomadic existence with her family
group on the Canning Stock Route before walking into Old Mission with her father
after her mother had died. Here she was given clothes and taken to Billiluna
and trained as a house worker. She subsequently travelled to many station houses
around the region working for the wives of the station owners. Nyumi married
a man called Palmer Gordon who is now a senior Law Man of the Billiluna community.
Both Nyumi and Palmer teach culture to the children at the school ensuring
the traditional dances and songs are kept alive. Nyumi advises the nursing
staff
at the health clinic about traditional bush medicines and she is also knowledgeable
about carving coolimons and digging sticks. She is an active member in the
community, being a strong law and culture woman.
REPRESENTED
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
The Holmes à Court Collection
The Laverty Collection
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