Kalipinypa

The painting depicts designs associated with Kapi Tjukurrpa (Water Dreaming) at Kalipinypa a site northwest of Sandy Blight Junction, Western Australia.The Tjukurrpa tells of an important rain-making ceremony to invoke the elements. It is a powerful storm bringing on the lightning, thunderclouds and rain sending its deluge to rejuvenate the earth, filling rock holes, clay pans and creeks. It has the power to create new life and growth upon the land. The different elements of the image represent puuli (hills), tali (sandhills) and kapi (water). Plants and leaves spring up after the heavy rain, nourishing the land and the people. The concentric circles represent waterholes, while the arrow shapes represent the footprints of the white heron that frequents the site.

 

Candy Nelson Nakamarra was born in Yuendumu in 1964, daughter to renowned Papunya Tula artist Johnny Warangkula, who taught his children how to paint whilst passing down family stories. They all paint the Kalipinypa Water Dreaming story, of the rain and hail-making ceremony, which Candy continues to explore and reinvent. Candy has a distinct, evolving style, employing bold contrasting colours and layering of drips, drawing and outlining to create contemporary works, which she says “look as if they are breathing, with the drawing elements popping out of the canvas”. Candy represents tali (sandhills) and running water in her backgrounds, and uses dotting to represent hail storms and rain. Through drawing shapes and motifs, she represents the waterholes, running water, bush tucker, water birds and flowers present after a big storm and the wanampi (water snake) which lives under the waterhole. Candy had her first solo show in Sydney in 2021, a three-person show in Brisbane in 2022, and had her second solo show in 2023 at Vivien Anderson Gallery in Melbourne.