Karntakurlangu by Dorothy Napangardi 36x46cm

Before creating a major artwork, Dorothy Napangardi would thoughtfully plan and sketch preparatory ‘esquisses’ (sketches), which evolved into significant works in their own right. These esquisses often laid the foundation for larger pieces, reflecting her meticulous process and artistic vision.

In Karntakurlangu Jukurrpa (Women's Dreaming), 2007 , Napangardi presents a striking composition featuring yellow ochre and white on a black background. The artwork depicts ancestral women dancing across Mina Mina, a sacred site in her custodial country. The painting illustrates their movement across the terrain, weaving around the soakages and salt crustations that form after rain, through the spinifex clumps and over sandhills.

"Karntakurlangu" translates to "belonging to women" in Warlpiri, symbolising the importance of the site in women's Dreaming stories. During the Jukurrpa, ancestral women of the Napangardi and Napanangka sub-section groups gathered at Mina Mina to collect ceremonial digging sticks (Karlangu) that emerged from the ground near the desert oak trees. They traveled eastward, performing sacred rituals of song and dance as they journeyed to Jankinyi, a site still marked by the presence of Desert Oaks (Allocasuarina decaisneana).

Mina Mina, located near Lake Mackay in the Tanami Desert, holds deep cultural significance, with stories of ancestral women passed down through generations. This artwork is highlighted on page 38 in the monograph Honouring and Remembering the Art and Life of Dorothy Napangardi, 1987-2013 , underscoring its importance within her body of work.