Tina Napangardi Martin Robertson
Artist Profile
Tina Napangardi Martin Robertson was born in 1960 in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. Her parents and grandparents are deceased and she has only one sister who lives in Laramba community, near Napperby Station. Tina went to the local school in Yuendumu. She lived there for most of her life but now lives in Nyirripi after she married her second husband, Douglas Wilson. They have one son born in 1997. She also has five grown-up children from her first marriage.
Tina has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists since 1996. When Warlukurlangu Artists began exploring print making in 1997, Tina began screen printing and batik. However it wasn't until 2007, when the children were grownup, that Tina found the time to paint on a regular basis. She paints her father's Jukurrpa stories which include Yurrampi Jukurrpa (Honey Ant Dreaming) and Janyinki Jukurrpa (Yanyinki Dreaming). She also paints Ngalyipi Jukurrpa (Snake Vine Dreaming) and recently Pulundari Jukurrpa (Mushroom Dreaming). Tina enjoys painting, especially when her children and grandchildren are watching. She loves to explain to them the meaning of the different designs and patterns. She also enjoys going hunting on weekends for bush tomato and bush sultanas and when she can she visits her father's country and her country.
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This "Jintiparnta Jukurrpa' (Desert Truffle (Elderia arenivaga) Dreaming) comes from Mina Mina. Mina Mina is an extremely important ceremonial site for Napangardi and Napanangka women that is located approximately 600kms west of Yuendumu, just east of Lake Mackay and the WA border. The area has a 'marluri' (salt lake or claypan) that is usually dry, without water. There are also a number of 'mulju' (soakages), sandhills, and a large stand of kurrkara (desert oaks [Allocasuarina decaisneana]). The Mina Mina Jukurrpa is an important source of Warlpiri ritual knowledge and social organization, particularly relating to the different roles performed by men and women.
The kirda' (owners) of this Jukurrpa are Napangardi/Napanangka women and Japangardi/Japanangka men. There are a number of different Jukurrpa associated with Mina Mina; artists usually choose to depict one particular Jukurrpa in their paintings. In addition to 'jintiparnta* (desert truffle), these can include 'karnta' (women), karlangu' (digging sticks), 'majardi' (hairstring skirts/tassels), 'ngalyipi' snakevine (Tinospora smilacina), and 'kurrkara' desert oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana).
The Mina Mina Jukurrpa tells the story of a group of ancestral karnta (women) who traveled from west to east. In the Dreamtime, these ancestral women danced at Mina Mina and 'karlangu' (digging sticks) rose up out of the ground. They collected these digging sticks and started travelling to the east. They carried their digging sticks over their shoulders and they were adorned with 'majardi' (hairstring belts), white feathers, and necklaces made from 'vinirnti' (bean tree [Erythrina vespertilio)]) seeds. They continuously anointed themselves with 'minyira' (shiny fat) to increase their ritual powers as they went along. As the women travelled, they were followed by a 'yinkardakurdaku' (spotted nightjar [Eurostopodus argus]) from the Jakamarra subsection. The bird would call out and then hide in the bushes behind them as they travelled. When the women danced at Mina Mina, they created a large dust cloud that swept up the 'walyankarna' snake.
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The site depicted in the termite dreaming is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu. In the usually dry creek bed are 'mulju' (soakages) or naturally occurring wells. The 'kirda' (owners) for this site are Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijnpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. The storm travelled across the country from the east to the west, initially travelling with a 'pamapardu Jukurrpa' (termite Dreaming) from Warntungurru to Warlura, a waterhole 8 miles east of Yuendumu. At Warlura, a gecko called Yumariyumari blew the storm on to Lapurrukurra and Wilpiri. Bolts of lightning shot out at Winpa (also called Mardinynmardinypa) and at Kanaralji. At this point the Dreaming track also included the 'kurdukurdu mangkurdu Jukurrpa' (children of the clouds Dreaming). The water Dreaming built hills at Ngamangama using baby clouds and also stuck long pointy clouds into the ground at Jukajuka, where they can still be seen today as rock formations.
The termite Dreaming eventually continued west to Nyirrpi, a community appromixately 160 kms west of Yuendumu. The water Dreaming then travelled from south over Mikanji, a watercourse with soakages northwest of Yuendumu. At Mikanji, the storm was picked up by a 'kirrkarlanji' (brown falcon [Falco berigora]) and taken farther north. At Puyurru, the falcon dug a giant 'warnayarra' (rainbow serpent). The serpent carried water with it to create another large lake, Jillyiumpa, close to an outstation in this country. The 'kirda' (owners) of this story are Jangala men and Nangala women. After stopping at Puyurru, the water Dreaming travelled on through other locations including Yalyarilalku, Mikilyparnta, Katalpi, Lungkardajarra, Jirawarnpa, Kamira, Yurrunjuku, and Jikaya before moving on into Gurindji country to the north.
In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, traditional iconography is used to represent the 'Jukurrpa' (Dreaming), associated sites, and other elements. In many paintings of this Dreaming, short dashes are often used to represent 'mangkurdu' (cumulus & stratocumulus clouds), and longer flowing lines represent 'ngawarra' (flood waters). Small circles are used to depict 'mulju' (soakages) and river beds.