Barbara Reid Nungurrayi

During the Time of Creation, the Ancestors taught the Pintupi people how to gather food from the bush (bush tucker) and perform ceremonies. In this story, women gather food for a ceremony to incense a newborn child. This ritual uses the smoke and fumes of burning native arrata plants. The incensation ceremony is very important for the health and safety of the child. It is supposed to protect the child from evil spirits - if she neglects it, the child will be stolen by them and no one will ever see him again. The ceremony takes place at night, during the full moon, which smiles as it looks at the dancing and singing women.

Barbara Reid Napangardi, who was born in 1962 in the Gibson Desert settlement of Tjukurla, presented this story using the traditional colors and iconography of the Pintupi tribe. In the center of the painting, she showed an elongated form that symbolizes the salt lake in her land. Above, red concentric circles symbolize the ceremony site, and the "u" shapes represent women. At the bottom, the author painted an apron made of human hair (shape resembling the letter "E") with which women cover the lower parts of their bodies. The concentric circles below represent the spindle that women use to make strings of hair. The semicircles on either side of this image symbolize rocks or painted female breasts. Oval yellow shapes represent wild apples and bush food.

The artist uses bright colors and thick textures. Her works are included in Australian and international collections.