Dorothy Napangardi

Dorothy Robinson Napangardi

c1952

Area:              Pikilyi, Yuendumu, Alice Springs

Language:     Warlpiri

Born in the Mina Mina area of Tanami Desert, Dorothy Robinson commenced painting in 1987 and in her art often refers to her traditional country of Mina Mina, Northern Territory. Her paintings recount the sotires of Jukurrpa or Dreaming, which prescribes laws, moral codes and rules for dealing iwth the enviroment. Her canvases depict both the area she hails from Mina Mina and the stories of the ancestral women and their diging sticks. Containing two large clay pans and numerous water soakages the land is relatively fertile. It is also thought to be the place where the digging sticks originated, emerging from the ground during the era of creation.

Holding a senior psition in the field of traditional law within the Wirlpiri society, Dorothy's works play an integral role in the preservation and communication of her Dreaming. Her father is the most senior custodian of the Pikilyi sacred site, having inherited her rights through her patrilineal line the importance of her contribution to the Aboriginal movement is magnified. Using more traditional colours (browns, greens, ochres contrasted against black and white) she creates depths and perspectives, leading the eye in to hightly detailed maps and journeys of her Dreamings.