Elizabeth Nyumi Nungurrayi (1947 - 2019)

PARWALLA, 2002

synthetic polymer paint on canvas

80.0 x 80.0 cm

bears inscription verso: artist’s name, size and Warlayirti Artists cat. 607/02

Warlayirti Artists, Balgo Hills, Western Australia
Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney
Milton and Alma Roxanas, Sydney
The Roxanas Collection of Aboriginal Art, Bonhams, Sydney, 11 May 2014, lot 195
Private collection, New South Wales

Elizabeth Nyumi, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, 18 July – 9 August 2002, cat. 2

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Warlayirti Artists which states:

‘This painting depicts the country of Elizabeth’s father. This country is known as Parwalla and is located far to the south of Balgo in the Great Sandy Desert, west of the community of Kiwirrkurra. The landscape of the area is dominated by tali, or sand dunes. The Parwalla area is a swampy area, filling a huge area with water after the wet season rain. These wet season rains result in an abundance of good bush tucker. The majority of the painting shows the different bush foods, including kantjili, or bush raisin, and minyili. Women, the U shapes, with their wana (digging sticks) and coolimons are also depicted. The white colour, which dominates the painting represents the spinifex which grows strong and seeds after the wet season rains. These seeds are white in colour, and grow so thickly they obscure the ground and other plants below.’