Star Dreaming (Yanjirlpirri Jukurrpa)
Artist:
Alma Nungarrayi Granites
(Indigenous Australian, born 1955)
Place made:Yuendumu, Northern Territory, Australia
General region:Oceania
Date: 2007
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions:
35 13/16 x 29 15/16 in. (91 x 76 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of the Lam Family
Object number: 2016.14.57
Copyright: © Alma Nungarrayi Granites
Provenance: Sold through Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Association, Yuendumu, to May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam; May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam, by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016
Label Text
This artwork’s dynamism reflects the rhythm of ceremonial performance. Depicted is the Star Dreaming, an important site where initiation ceremonies for young men take place. At the Star (Yanjirlpirri) site, there is a low hill and a soakage, a source of water in the Australian desert where water seeps into the sand and is safely stored in the ground. At nightfall, the stars are reflected in the water of the soakage, causing the land and the sky to appear as one. Here, the scattered roundels represent the stars, while the curving lines represent snake vine, used to tie ceremonial spears onto the initiates’ bodies. Mirroring the movement of ceremonial dance, this painting fuses land, body, and sky.
(Exhibition label, 2017)
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
