Parwalla, Elizabeth Nyumi Nungurrayi
Acrylic on linen, 45cm x 30cm
Provenance: Tunbridge Gallery, Margaret River.
Elizabeth Nyumi Nungurrayi spent her early years in the traditional nomadic life near Jupiter Well. Once the well was polluted she, along with many of her people, walked up the Canning Stock Route and into the Balgo Mission. Her earliest works were indicative of sand drawing, the visual storytelling that accompanies the spoken story narrative. Similar to her contemporary Balgo artists, Nyumi uses her painting to reconnect with her land. She is a very strong culture woman and dancer and enthusiastic teacher of culture to children, ensuring the traditional dances and songs are kept alive. She began painting in 1987 and has been exhibited and collected widely (1).
From the authenticity certificate: This painting depicts the country known as Parwalla, which is Nyumi’s father’s country. This country is far to the south of Balgo in the Great Sandy Desert, west of Kiwirrkurra and is dominated by tali (sand hills). Parwalla is a large swampy area, which fills with water after the wet season rain and consequently produces an abundance of bush foods. The majority of Nyumi’s paintings shows the different bush foods. Women, shown as the U shapes, with their wana (digging sticks) and coolamons gathering the foods are also depicted. The whitish colours, which dominate the painting, represent the spinifex that grows strong and seeds after the wet season rains. These seeds are white in colour, and grow so thickly they obscure the ground and other plants below.
Other works by this artist: