45-25 – Munga Munga – VERONICA LULU

Artist : VERONICA LULU
Title : Munga Munga
Size/Medium : 1219 x 1016mm: acrylic on linen Painting

Veronica commenced painting in 1979 and began to emerge as a leading artist in the late 1990s. Her paintings are mainly concerned with her traditional country.

When Veronica was born her family lived at Lake Stretch where they lived a traditional life collecting bushtucker and bush medicine. Veronica saw white people for the first time when she was about 5 years old. 

Veronica’s mother Bababala (bush name) belonged to the country of Walgalli near Yagga Yagga on the Wangatjungka side. Her creation story is the Seven Sisters Dreaming.

Her father Wirru (bushname) is Walmatjarri, and his country was Paraku (Lake Gregory) in the region of Tjurabalan.

Veronica paints the creation story of mungily the flower that is abundant in this region. 

When Veronica was a young girl, she was taken away to live at the Old Balgo Mission, while her parents lived at Billiluna Community some 250 kms away. She trained as a domestic worker and it was there that she met her husband Eddie Calyon. Subsequently Veronica had eight children: three girls and five boys. 

Veronica is a strong culture woman and dancer and an enthusiastic teacher of culture to children, ensuring the traditional dances and songs are kept alive. All of her six living children are painters and are strongly encouraged by Veronica. She holds a senior position in the community of Mulan.

She is a Marpan (traditional healer) and is an active community representative with land-rights issues and works closely with the IPA (Indigenous Protected Area) Council.

About this painting :

“Tjawa Tjawa this one. Where this Tjakamarra man as chasing them. Womans was dancing. And after they went to Walkali (the blue circle). My mother’s country. And they were still chased by that Tjakamarra too! Tjakamarra was chasing them again, everywhere they made a rockholes. These ones rockholes. And claypans they was dancing all around. They went to Munga Munga, (the large brown circle at the top) old womans spot this one where all the womens was dancing. They made the claypan. Its called Munga Munga. The young girls was dancing and learning from the womans. All dancing there. Going around making claypans from dancing.

Those seven sisters went back to Walkali. They danced there but they was frightened of that Tjakamarra. That Tjakamarra name was Pritj Pritj. He was chasing them to get wife. He couldnt catch them. They been get sick of him, so they been fly up to the sky. And that tjakamarra trying to catch, reach the young one. But that young one still flew up. The other six went but she was the last one. That young star. Napaltjarri. All those Napaltjarri went up to the sky. Turned into star now. From womans. Thats why we look that Milky Way, Seven Sisters. My Mothers story this one, My Grandmother and Grandfather story.