Wakirlpirri Foldable Tote Bag

This digital foldable cotton bag features artwork by Liddy Napanangka Walker, depicting the Wakirlpirri tree, which is central to Warlpiri culture. The tree’s seeds are edible, used to make a sweet drink, while its wood is crafted into boomerangs and dancing boards, symbolizing its cultural and practical significance. The Jukurrpa story of the Wakirlpirri tree connects to important sites, adding depth to this beautiful design. Made from 100% cotton, this bag is not only eco-friendly and durable but also foldable for easy storage, with the artwork printed on both sides for extra flair. It’s the perfect blend of tradition, functionality, and style, ideal for everyday use while celebrating Indigenous Australian culture.

Dimensions: 13.58" x 16.14" x 2.76"

Royalties directly benefit the artist.

Fair Trade | Ethically Produced | Machine Washable

About the Artist:

Liddy Napanangka Walker (c. 1925–2017) was a respected Warlpiri artist born at Mt Doreen in the Northern Territory. She spent her early years living in bush camps with her family and later settled in the community of Yuendumu, where she lived from its founding and worked in various pastoral care roles. Liddy began painting in the mid-1980s, shortly after the establishment of Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, and became one of its most senior and celebrated members. Her artworks reflect the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) of her father, a Japangardi man from Mt Theo, and her grandfather, and include important ancestral stories of bush tomato, goanna, seed pods, bush potato, and hopping mouse. Liddy’s distinctive style, marked by dynamic composition and vibrant color, helped define the bold regional aesthetic of Yuendumu and contributed significantly to the recognition of Warlpiri art on a national and international stage.

About the Artwork:

This painting centers on the wakirlpirri (dogwood tree), an important plant that grows along creek beds and near mulga trees. Wakirlpirri is highly valued by Warlpiri people for its many uses: its seeds can be eaten raw or cooked on the fire, and when dried, they are used to make a sweet drink called yinjirrpi. The wood is used to craft karli (boomerangs) and ceremonial dancing boards, and it is especially prized as firewood, as even rain cannot extinguish it once alight.

In Warlpiri culture, paintings like this use traditional iconography to represent the Jukurrpa—a complex and sacred concept often translated as "Dreaming" or "Dreamtime." Jukurrpa refers to the ancestral time when creation beings shaped the land, established laws, and passed down knowledge and customs. These ancestral narratives are deeply tied to specific places, plants, animals, and people, and they continue to guide spiritual, cultural, and kinship responsibilities. This particular Jukurrpa, which travels from Jarrarda-Jarrayi to Puturlu (Mount Theo), west of Yuendumu, belongs to Japanangka/Japangardi men and Napanangka/Napangardi women, who are the custodians of this story and its associated Country.

 

Liddy Napanangka Walker is a featured artist in —

Exhibition Opens May 9, 2025 THE LUME Indianapolis Featuring Connection: Land, Water, Sky Art & Culture from Indigenous Australians Learn More & Reserve Tickets