Evelyn Nangala Robertson / Seed Dreaming (2A)

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

Evelyn Nangala Robertson was born in 1986 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in Australia. She is the daughter of Tina Napangardi Martin Robertson and grand-daughter of Shorty Jangala Robertson, both artists in their own right. Evelyn attended the local school in Yuendumu. In 2005 she moved to Nyirripi with her family and still lives there. She has worked for the Child Care Centre and the local shop and now works at the school. She is married to Kenneth Jungarrayi Martin, also an artist with Warlukurlangu Artists. She has one son, Rhys, born in 2004 from a previous relationship.

Evelyn has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation; an Aboriginal owned and governed Art Centre, since 2007. She mainly paints her Grandfather’s Jukurrpa stories, but also her Father’s and her Grandmother’s Jukurrpa, Dreamings which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. “As a little girl I use to watch My Grandmother and Mum paint and they would tell me a story about the painting, the dream-time”. Evelyn uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

When Evelyn is not working or painting she likes to spend time with her family and with her friends.

This painting tells the story of a Jangala ‘watiya-warnu’ ancestor who travelled south from a small hill called Ngurlupurranyangu to Yamunturrngu (Mount Liebig). As he travelled he picked the ‘watiya-warnu’ seeds and placed them in ‘parrajas’ (food carriers), one of which he carried on his head. Watiya-warnu is a seed bearing tree that grows in open spinifex or mulga country.

When people returned to their camp after collecting the seeds they would make large windbreaks for shelter and winnow the seed in the late afternoon. Immature ‘watiya-warnu’ seed is ground into a paste and can be used to treat upset stomachs. The associated ‘watiya-warnu’ ceremony involves the preparation of a large ground painting.