Winpurpurla by Christine Yukenbarri

Artwork
Winpa - our waterhole

For Christine and the Warlayirti Artists, the act of painting is more than just painting landscapes, or earning a livelihood. It is about connection, remembering and keeping ancient Country and Tjukurrpa (creation stories and lore) alive. To paint is to sustain life. Christine is the youngest daughter of leading Balgo artist Helicopter Tjungurrayi and the late Lucy Yukenbarri, both exceptional painters in their own right. She learned to paint by sitting with her mother, watching and learning how to paint from a very young age, eventually assisting her mother and then painting her own artworks. South of Balgo is Winpurpurla, a tjurnu (rockhole) in the Great Sandy Desert, and her mother’s ancestral Country. It is a place where women go to collect kumpuparta (bush tomatoes) and lukararra (seed used for making damper). Although Christine was born a long way from this Country and a helicopter is required to visit the site, painting Country is a way of keeping it alive.

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Warlayirti Artists

Little bit long way

So says the first of many painted car-bonnet signs as you turn off the Great Northern Highway to travel the 350 kms along the Tanami track to the Warlayirti Artists Art and Culture Centre at Balgo...

Address:

Tanami Track (Turn off Highway 5kms south of Halls Creek)
Nyirla Warlayirti Rd
Wirrimanu (Balgo) Community via Halls Creek WA 6770
Australia

Open Hours

Mon to Fri 9am - 5pm and on weekends by calling 0407 123 478; closed end December to January

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Warlayirti Artists Art Centre
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Warlayirti Artists Art Centre
Warlayirti Artists is one of Australia’s leading Indigenous art centres...
1 Nyirla Warlayirti Road, Tanami, WA 6770