Joy Napangardi Michaels
Aboriginal Warlpiri Woman
Joy Napangardi Michaels was born in 1991 in Alice Springs Hospital, and grew up in Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal community located 440 km from Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. She was raised by her grandmother Alice Nampijinpa Henwood Michaels, a well-known Warlukurlangu artist. Joy has one sister, Simone Napangardi Morton who also paints for the Art Centre. Joy has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2012. She paints her Grandmother’s Jukurrpa, Dreamings which have been passed down over the generations for millennia and relate directly to the land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Joy paints Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa, a rock hole near Lake Hazlett. When Joy is not painting or looking after her daughter she likes to go hunting with family members.
@warlu_artArtworks
Lappi
This artwork tells the story of Lappi Lappi Dreaming. The Dreaming story takes place at a small rock hole near Lake Hazlett. The rock hole is home to a rainbow serpent. The story goes that in the Dreamtime a group of women were gathered at the rock hole and the serpent silently approached them. When it reached the edge of the rock hole, it rose out of the water and ate them all.
Lappi Lappi Jukurrpa
The subject of this artwork is Lappi Lappi, a rock hole near Lake Hazlett. The country belongs to Nampikinpa/Jampijimpa and Nangala/Jangala skin groups. Located in a sheltered basin, the rock hole is a permanent source of water, and is surrounded by country rich in bush tucker. In the Dreamtime many mothers with young children would gather there because it was a safe place to stay. Lappi Lappi is home to a 'warnayarra', a rainbow serpent. One day the women were gathered at the rock hole with their children, singing and dancing. When the 'warnayarra' heard the sound of voices, it travelled silently towards them. When it reached the edge of the rock hole, it rose out of the water and ate them all.
