Yarla, 2006

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

210 x 150 cm

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Provenance: Tomo's Aboriginal Art, NT, Cat No. TAALFN0420 Red Desert Dreamings, Melbourne, Vic, Cat No. RDD872
Artwork story: Lorna Fencer Napurrula was born at Yarturlu Yarturlu, a Yam Dreaming site in the Tanami Desert. A custodian of Yumurrpa country, she held ancestral rights over several Dreamings including Yarla (Bush Potato), Luju (Caterpillar), Bush Tomato, Onion, and Plum. After being relocated with her Warlpiri family to Lajamanu in 1949, she maintained her cultural authority through ceremony and teaching, becoming a senior law woman and respected elder. Lorna began painting in 1986 and soon emerged as one of the most dynamic figures of the Lajamanu art movement. Her gestural brushwork, bold compositions and exuberant use of colour brought a new energy to desert painting. Working across more than three decades, she exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, with her vibrant depictions of women’s ceremonies and ancestral food sources earning her critical acclaim. This painting depicts Yarla Dreaming (Bush Potato Dreaming), one of the key ancestral stories associated with Lorna Fencer’s country at Yumurrpa. The work reflects the journeys of the ancestral women who dug for the Yarla tubers during the dry season, singing and dancing as they travelled across the land. Through sweeping brushstrokes and radiant fields of colour, Lorna evokes the underground networks of roots and bulbs, transforming them into a celebration of abundance and renewal.

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c.1924–1925 – 2006

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

210 x 150 cm

Enquire for price

Provenance: Tomo's Aboriginal Art, NT, Cat No. TAALFN0420 Red Desert Dreamings, Melbourne, Vic, Cat No. RDD872
Artwork story: Lorna Fencer Napurrula was born at Yarturlu Yarturlu, a Yam Dreaming site in the Tanami Desert. A custodian of Yumurrpa country, she held ancestral rights over several Dreamings including Yarla (Bush Potato), Luju (Caterpillar), Bush Tomato, Onion, and Plum. After being relocated with her Warlpiri family to Lajamanu in 1949, she maintained her cultural authority through ceremony and teaching, becoming a senior law woman and respected elder. Lorna began painting in 1986 and soon emerged as one of the most dynamic figures of the Lajamanu art movement. Her gestural brushwork, bold compositions and exuberant use of colour brought a new energy to desert painting. Working across more than three decades, she exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, with her vibrant depictions of women’s ceremonies and ancestral food sources earning her critical acclaim. This painting depicts Yarla Dreaming (Bush Potato Dreaming), one of the key ancestral stories associated with Lorna Fencer’s country at Yumurrpa. The work reflects the journeys of the ancestral women who dug for the Yarla tubers during the dry season, singing and dancing as they travelled across the land. Through sweeping brushstrokes and radiant fields of colour, Lorna evokes the underground networks of roots and bulbs, transforming them into a celebration of abundance and renewal.