Stephanie Napurrurla Nelson / Bush Potato Dreaming (1A)

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

Stephanie Napurrurla Nelson was born in 1984 in the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs. She grew up 290km from there, in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal Community.

She attended the local school then studied at Yirrara College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Alice Springs.

Stephanie’s auntie is Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec) who was one of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in the community of Yuendumu. Stephanie has painted at the art centre since 2000 under the guidance of Bessie, from whom she has been handed the Dreaming stories she paints. These stories have been passed down in this way over many generations. Stephanie’s dreamings include Janganpa (possum), Yarla (bush potato), Karnta (women), Marlu (kangaroo), Pamabaru (flying ant). They come from Waputali, the country of which her family are custodians, and relate directly to this land, it’s features and animals.

Stephanie is married and has a son who was born in 2003. She likes playing basketball and going hunting with her family.

This Yarla Jukurrpa belongs to men of the Japaljarri/Jungarrayi subsections and to Napaljarri / Nungarrayi women. It comes from an area to the east of Yuendumu called Cockatoo Creek. ‘Yarla’ (bush potato) are fibrous tubers that grow beneath a low spreading plant, found by looking for cracks in the ground. This edible tuber grows from ‘yartura’ (roots) which seek out moisture to spout new plants. Yarla are good to eat, when cooked they are really soft and tasty. The Jukurrpa tells of ‘yarla’ and ‘wapirti’ (bush carrot) ancestors fighting a big battle in this area. The specific site associated with this painting is a ‘mulju’ (water soakage) called Ngarparapunyu.

In contemporary Warlpiri paintings traditional iconography is used to represent the Jukurrpa, associated sites and other elements. The curved lines of the ‘kuruwarri’ (ceremonial designs) represent the ‘ngamarna’ (vine-like tendrils) from which grow ‘jinjirla’ (flowers). ‘Karlangu’ (digging sticks) are usually represented as strait lines. ‘Karlangu’ are used by women to dig for bush tucker like Yarla and Wapirti which are found underground.