Barbara Nakamarra Wilson / Lappi Lappi Dreaming (2462-21ny)

Artwork is accompanied by Warlukurlangu Artists (Yuendumu) Art Centre Certificate of Authenticity/Provenance

Barbara Nakamarra Wilson lives in Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal community located 440 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. During the School holidays the children from the local schools in Nyirripi and Yuendumu are encouraged to visit the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, to paint their Jukurrpa or Dreaming stories. They are provided with an unrestricted palette of acrylic paint and small boards. Barbara participated in the Art program. Barbara paints her mother’s and grandmother’s Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa (Lappi Lappi Dreaming).

The subject of this work is Lappi Lappi, a rockhole near Lake Hazlett, about 90km northwest of Lake Mackay in Western Australia. Located in a sheltered basin, the rock hole at Lappi Lappi is a permanent source of water, and is surrounded by country rich in bush tucker.

In the time of the Jukurrpa (Dreamtime) many mothers with young children would gather there because it was a safe place to stay. The rock hole at Lappi Lappi is home to a ‘warnayarra’, a rainbow serpent that travels underground between various rock holes.