Jack Dempsey

"Songlines" LARGE Colorful Pointillist Aboriginal Painting - Papunya Tula School

Circa 1987

Papunya Tula Artists Pty. Ltd., Alice Springs The Holmes Court Collection, Perth Austral Gallery, Saint Louis, MO; acquired in 1996; Richard Kelton Collection, Santa Monica; Exhibite...

This powerful and vividly colored diptych by Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra (born 1955), a renowned Warlpiri artist, is an extraordinary example of contemporary Aboriginal art, drawing deeply from cultural knowledge, ancestral memory, and ecological stewardship. Depicting the sacred narrative of the creation of the Lander River system, the painting is both a visual masterpiece and a spiritual map, tracing a journey through geography, kinship, and Dreaming (Jukurrpa). At first glance, the canvas pulsates with energy. Vortices of concentric circles in rich ochres, reds, yellows, and blues dominate the composition, pulling the viewer into the spiraling flow of the Dreaming. These forms are not merely decorative; they carry deep cultural meaning. The blue line that winds through the center of both canvases is a stylized yet surprisingly geographical depiction of the Lander River, representing its twisting path through central Australia, from the artist’s home country of Willowra to Purtulu (Mount Theo), his mother’s land. Purtulu, meaning “backbone” in Warlpiri, forms not only a physical destination but a metaphorical axis that holds the painting together. This backbone is both personal and cosmic—representing the spine of the land, the structure of ancestral lore, and Jagamarra’s own familial inheritance. The work is grounded in the artist’s kinship obligations and responsibilities to country, with specific references to the roles of kirda (owners of the Dreaming) and kurdungulu (caretakers). In Warlpiri culture, this relational dynamic is foundational—it is the system by which land is cared for, stories are maintained, and ancestral laws are fulfilled. The Dreaming Goannas, positioned at each end of the canvases, are key ancestral figures. Their presence not only signals the sacred nature of this journey but also reflects the traditional Warlpiri iconography—note the “U” shapes, which are used to denote seated ancestors. The goanna is a totemic being, and its hunting patterns and ecological relationships are mirrored in human behavior. To maintain the health of the land and support the goanna population, it is necessary to burn the country regularly. Jagamarra references this practice with depictions of spinifex grass and hunting grounds, connecting mythological beings with tangible ecological practices, and blurring the line between story and science, belief and land management. The left canvas contains the Owl Dreaming, where an abstracted face of the owl can be discerned—haunting and watchful. The owl, a silent observer of the night, brings wisdom and a sense of foreboding. It is a powerful spirit presence in many Aboriginal traditions. Meanwhile, the right canvas turns to the Warna, or Snake Dreaming. The snake, winding and water-bound, is both creator and destroyer, and its movement echoes that of the river. The snake’s body, woven into a hypnotic spiral, is a symbolic representation of the waterways that give life and form to the central desert. This artwork is more than a painting—it is a teaching. It encodes knowledge about ecology, fire management, kinship roles, and sacred geography. It is both autobiographical and communal, a map of memory and belonging. Created within the living traditions of Warlpiri law, it speaks to the inseparable relationship between people and land in Aboriginal worldviews. Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra’s work is a powerful expression of this connection—his hand guided not only by brush but by heritage, ceremony, and Dreaming. Its journey from the Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia in Melbourne to the Kelton Foundation in Santa Monica, and its exhibition at venues such as the Australian Consulate in Los Angeles and the Indigenous Wisdom and Healing Conference in Virginia Beach...

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