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Ancestral women of the Nangala and Napangati subsections camped at Marrapinti during their travels east. There, the women made nose bones, also known as marrapinti. During ceremonies relating to Marrapinti, the older women pierced the nasal septums of the younger women who were participating in the ceremony. Now, nose bones are only used by the older generation for ceremonies.
Upon completion of the ceremonies at Marrapinti, the women continued their travels east, passing through Wala Wala, Ngaminya and Wirrulnga, before heading north east to Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay).
The lines in the painting represent the surrounding tali (sand hills) in the area around Wirrulnga. A group of ancestral women once gathered at this site to perform the dance and sing the songs associated with the area. Wirrulnga is known as a traditional birthing site for the women of the area, and while the women were at Wirrulnga a woman of the Napaltjarri kinship subsection gave birth to a son who was a Tjupurrula.
Language Group: Pintupi
Dates: 1955-2009
Doreen Reid Nakamarrawas born in the desert on the east side of the mission settlement of Warburton in West Australia. She was raised in a traditional nomadic lifestyle and lived in many different areas throughout her life, including, Utju (Areyonga), Amata, and Docker River. Doreen began painting for Papunya in 1999. Since then, her work has been exhibited in Australia and internationally. In 2007, her work was shown at the National Gallery of Australia’s first Indigenous Triennial, Culture Warriors. Doreen was featured in the documentary Art+Soul and included in the major exhibition Everywhen: The Eternal Present in Indigenous Art from Australia In 2009, she was included in the Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art and in 2012, she was posthumously included in the dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany. Her work is held in numerous important institutional collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.

DOREEN REID NAKAMARRA, Rockhole Site of Marrapinti, 2006
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. 421/4 × 353/4 in. (107.3 × 90.8 cm). Collection of Stephen and Agatha Luczo.
© estate of the artist licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd for Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd.