Virginia Napaljarri Sims / Mina Mina Dreaming (1A)

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

Virginia Napaljarri Sims was born in Royal Perth Hospital, a long way from her home in Nyirripi, a remote aboriginal community located approximately 430km from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is the granddaughter of Ena Nakamarra Gibson, a senior Warlpiri artist. Virgina grew up in Nyirripi but later was sent to Cairns to finish her schooling at Djarragun College. She completed Year 10 before returning home.

Although she was taught art at school, it was her Grandmother that inspired her to paint. When she was young she would listen to her grandmother’s jukurrpa and watch her paint. She began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, located in Yuendumu and Nyirripi, since 2017. She paints her Grandmother’s Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming – Ngalyipi) – a very important women’s dreaming site west of Nyirripi near Lake Mackay and the WA border. These stories have been passed down to her by her grandmother and her grandmother’s mother before her for millennia. Virginia loves colour and uses an unrestricted palette and enjoys painting patterns to depict her jukurrpa.

Virginia is married to Brad James and when she is not painting she loves cleaning house, watching movies and cooking shows on TV.

Mina Mina is the area or country this painting is depicting. It is far west of Yuendumu and is very important to the Napangardi / Napanangka women. These women and their Japangardi / Japanangka brothers, are the custodians of the Jukurrpa that created the area. This story (Dreaming) tells of the journey of a group of women who travelled east gathering food, ‘ngalyipi’ (snake vine) and performing ceremonies as they journeyed.

The ‘ngalyipi’ vine grows up the trunks and branches of the ‘kurrkara’ (desert oak trees). ‘Ngalyipi’ is a sacred vine to Napangardi and Napanangka women that has many uses. It can be used as a ceremonial wrap, as a strap to carry ‘parrajas’ (wooden bowls) that are laden with bush tucker and as a bandage for headaches.

The women began their travels at Mina Mina where ‘karlangu’ (digging sticks) emerged from the ground. Taking these tools the women travelled east creating Janyinki and other sites. Their travels took them eventually further than Warlpiri country. The women used the karlangu to gather bush tucker on their travels.