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Art ➔ Painting, Yala Dreaming At Watikinpirri
Identifier:
196640Description:
Yala Dreaming at Watikinpirri. Mick Walankarri Djagamaara, Anmajira group of Papunya, central Australia. Synthetic pigment on canvas, 1975.Watikinpirri is an important site located west of Mt. Wedge in the western desert region. It is a sacred Dreaming site situated at the intersection of several Dreaming lines. Among the cycles which pass through Watikinpirri are the Wild Potato, Water, and Possum.
This painting illustrates an episode from the Creative era when the legendary Water Men from Kalipinypa met the Yala (Wild Potato) Men at Watininpirri. The two groups held a corroboree which brought rain and produced an abundance of wild potatoes and other lush vegetation.
Lightning and running water associated with the Water Heroes are shown as wavy lines. The Yala and Water Men are seated around water holes (arcs adjacent to circles). The flowering potato plants are represented by small circles in the center of the painting. Different forms of vegetation found in the area are shown in the background (Art of the First Australians, p. 52).
Aboriginal Australian Paintings are modified versions of elaborate ground mosaics. These symbolic representations are used by Aborignals in ceremonies calling up mythological forces, calling for rain, represent historical events, and other important rituals. The ground mosaics were typically destroyed after ceremonies were completed and only initiated members of society could view them. Over the past few decades designs have been transferred to paintings as Aboriginees have sought to preserve this artform.
