Louise Nangala Egan / Water Dreaming – Puyurru (3723-21)

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

Louise Nangala Egan was born in 1987 in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west from Alice Springs. She began her schooling at the local primary school and finished her schooling at Yirara College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Alice Springs. She returned to the community in 2004, after graduating from Yirara where she has lived permanently ever since. Louise and her siblings (1 brother and 2 sisters) were brought up by her grandparents, Thomas Jangala Rice and Jeannie Nungarrayi Egan. Thomas Jangala Rice and Jeannie Nungarrayi Egan are well known artists and have always played an important role in the Yuendumu community. It was through her Grandparents that Louise learnt to paint her Jukurrpa.

She has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2004. She consistently paints her grandfather’s Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming) that relates directly to Puryurru, an area west of Yuendumu. These ‘dreamings’ are all about her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. They have been passed down through the generations for millennia. Louise Initially used traditional iconography but over time she has developed an individualistic style using pattern and design in a variety of contexts to depict her traditional jukurrpa.

After Louise finished school she returned to Yuendumu, and worked for the Mining Store for several years. She now looks after her three children and paints. When she is not painting, she likes to go hunting with her family and friends.

The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek beds are ‘mulju’ (soakages), or naturally occurring wells. The ‘kirda’ (owners) for this site are Nangala / Nampijinpa women and Jangala / Jampijinpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. The storm travelled across the country from the east to the west, initially travelling with a ‘pamapardu Jukurrpa’ (termite Dreaming) from Warntungurru to Warlura, a waterhole 8 miles east of Yuendumu. At Warlura, a gecko called Yumariyumari blew the storm on to Lapurrukurra and Wilpiri. Bolts of lightning shot out at Wirnpa (also called Mardinymardinypa) and at Kanaralji. At this point the Dreaming track also includes the ‘kurdukurdu mangkurdu Jukurrpa’ (children of the clouds Dreaming). The water Dreaming built hills at Ngamangama using baby clouds and also stuck long pointy clouds into the ground at Jukajuka, where they can still be seen today as rock formations.

The termite Dreaming eventually continued west to Nyirripi, a community approximately 160 km west of Yuendumu. The water Dreaming then travelled from the south over Mikanji, a watercourse with soakages northwest of Yuendumu. At Mikanji, the storm was picked up by a ‘kirrkarlanji’ (brown falcon) and taken farther north. At Puyurru, the falcon dug up a giant ‘warnayarra’ (rainbow serpent). The serpent carried water with it to create another large lake, Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country. The ‘kirda’ (owners) of this story are Jangala men and Nangala women. After stopping at Puyurru, the water Dreaming travelled on through other locations including Yalyarilalku, Mikilyparnta, Katalpi, Lungkardajarra, Jirawarnpa, Kamira, Yurrunjuku, and Jikaya before moving on into Gurindji country to the north.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to represent the ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreaming). Short dashes are often used to represent ‘mangkurdu’ (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds), and longer, flowing lines represent ‘ngawarra’ (flood waters). Small circles are used to depict ‘mulju’ (soakages) and river bed.