Ngapa Dreamingby Mickey Jampijinpa Singleton

The site depicted in this artwork is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu (a remote Aboriginal community). In the usually dry creek beds are Mulju, or naturally occurring wells. The Kirda for this site are the Nangala/Nampijinpa women and Jangala/Jampijinpa men. Two Jangala men, rainmakers, sang the rain and unleashed a giant storm. The storm travelled across the country from the east to the west, initially travelling with a Pamapardu Jukurrpa 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 of Wirnpa and at Kanaralji. At this point the Dreaming track also includes 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, another small remote Aboriginal community approximately 160km west of Yuendumu.

Artist:Mickey Jampijinpa Singleton
Title:Ngapa Dreaming
ID:592/15NY
Medium:Acrylic on Belgian Linen
Size:61 x 46 cm
Region:Yuendumu, Central Australia

Artist

Micky Jampijinpa Singleton was born on Mount Doreen Station (an extensive cattle breeding station in NT) where he lived and worked as a stockman before moving to Yuendumu, an Aboriginal community located 290 km northwest of Alice Springs. He has lived most of his life between Yuendumu and Nyirripi, a community which started as an outstation of Yuendumu, located a further 160 kms west into the bush. He currently lives in Nyirripi. Mickey has one daughter and one son from his first marriage. His daughter Lynette lives in Willowra, and his son lives in Nyirripi. Mickey now lives with his second wife, Jeanie Napangardi Lewis, an artist in her own right. He has been painting on and off for many years. Because he did not have access to painting materials while he lived at Nyirripi – there is no art centre there – he would travel to Yuendumu and paint every day with Warlukurlangu Artists, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre, before returning home to Nyirripi. Now that Warlukurlangu staff travel to Nyirripi with canvas and paint on a regular basis Mickey stays there. Mickey uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern individualistic style to depict his traditional Jukurrpa (Dreamings). Mickey paints his traditional Jukurrpa that has been passed down to him from his father and his fathers before him for millennia. These stories are creation stories that relate to Mickey’s traditional country. They include Ngapa Jakurrpa and Wati Jarra (Two Men Dreaming). When he is not painting he loves to go hunting for kangaroo and goanna.

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