Marshall Jangala Robertson / Seed Dreaming (1144-25)

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

Marshall Jangala Robertson is a Warlpiri artist who paints for Warlukurlangu Art Centre in the Northern Territory.

Born in 1974 in Darwin, he grew up in Lajamanu, attending first the local school and later the Aboriginal Boarding school at Alice Springs, Yirara College. After finishing school Marshall returned to Lajamanu working in a variety of trades, before moving to Yuendumu, his parent’s country.

Marshall comes from a family of artists: his father, Jimmy Jampijinpa Robertson, was a founding member of the Waniyaka Art Centre at Lajamanu and his mother, Denise Napangardi Tasman, was also a well-known artist.

When painting with his family and when visiting his parents country Marshall was listening to the Jukurrpa stories. He paints his grandfather’s and father’s Dreamings: Ngapa Jukurrpa (Water Dreaming); Watiya-Warna Jukurrpa (Seed Dreaming) and Warna Jukurrpa (Snake Dreaming) – dreamings which relate directly to his land, its features and the plants and animals that live in and on it.

Marshall is married to well-known artist Justinna Napaljarri Sims, and they have four children. When not painting, Marshall enjoys going bush, hunting for goannas or travelling to Adelaide with his family, catching up with relatives and friends.

Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2021 Synergy: Art from the Heartlands of Aboriginal Australia, Everywhen Art, Shoreham VIC
• 2019 defining tradition | black + white, Kate Owen Gallery, Sydney

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. This Jukurrpa belongs to Nampijinpa/Nangala women and Jampijinpa/Jangala men.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, particular sites and other elements. In paintings of this Dreaming ‘U’ shapes are often depicting women collecting the ‘watiya-warnu’ seeds. Oval shapes represent the ‘parrajas’ where they carry the seeds and strait lines beside them frequently portrait digging sticks.