Pirlinyanu, 2004 by Julie Nangala Robertson 23x30cm stretched canvas, Cat 8410JR

The telling of the Ngapa Jukurrp a (Water Dreaming) using the monochromatic palette in this small work is beautifully captured by the artist Julie Nangala Robertson, winner of the 2023 Telstra Aboriginal Art Award in Best Painting Category.

The passing of traditional knowledge teaches the location of deep rock holes at a site called Pirlinyanu , an important part of the Ngapa Jukurrp a (Water Dreaming) for Warlpiri people of the Tanami Desert approximately 450 km west of Alice Springs, west of Yuendumu and towards the WA border.

The responsibility of this Dreaming are the custodians of the Nangala/Jangala and Nampijinpa/Jampijinpa skin groups.

The eldest of the five daughters of Dorothy Napangardi Robinson has recently changed the spelling of her surname from Robinson to Robertson, as she feels that her father, Windy, had misspelt their surname, as Julie's other relatives in Yuendumu are all Robertson.