Veronica Williams Napangardi

Originally from Yuendumu in the Central Desert, Veronica Williams writes about the Dreaming (Jukurrpa) of Water (Ngapa) linked to the sacred site of Pirlinyarnu, located west of her community. Dreams are stories passed down orally from generation to generation. In a culture where true wealth is found not in material possession but in knowledge, knowledge of these Dreams is a very long process that begins in childhood through initiation ceremonies. During these ceremonies, the participants dress their bodies in paint and perform dances while singing epics to the sound of percussion (often digging sticks or spears in the central desert). These dreams explain the actions of great ancestors (men, animals, plants, reptiles, trees, fruits, etc.) who created the world in the Dreamtime and whose exploits set the rules of life, the 'law'. As the ceremonies progress, the initiate learns a little more about the dream bequeathed to him by his family group. As this dream has a sacred value, artists like Veronica Williams only give us the version that was instilled in the children. The one we have been given mixes multiple dreams - or dream tracks - that intersect during the journeys undertaken by different ancestors. The site represented in this painting is Pirlinyarnu, Mount Farewell, west of Yuendumu. In the generally dry creek beds are naturally occurring wells. The owners of this site are Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijinpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, are said to have chanted for rain, triggering a giant storm. The storm is said to have crossed the country from east to west, travelling first with the ancestor of the Dream Kirrkarlanji, a brown falcon. Traditional iconography is used to represent cumulus and stratocumulus clouds, and longer, flowing lines that represent flood waters. Small circles are used to represent runoff and the riverbed. The lines on the canvas represent, from the air, the rainwater that spreads across the artist's territory, sometimes creating furrows that in turn become rivers. Like most Central Desert artists, Veronica Williams Napangardi uses dot painting, or pointillism, which is inspired by traditional ritualistic ground paintings.