Umarri (Yumari) - David Brown Jangala

This painting by David Brown Jangala depicts Yumari, a significant site west of Kintore, where many Tjukurpa songlines intersect. It is a place of rich cultural knowledge and shared memory, known for its waterholes, hunting grounds, and ceremonial importance. Through intricate dotting and careful composition, Brown honours this landscape not only for its physical beauty but for its role in sustaining life, law, and kinship. His use of form and rhythm maps out the pathways and gathering sites that have long connected Western Desert peoples across generations.

“This is my father’s Country,” Brown says. “We used to come here and stay at the waterhole… catch bush tucker and have a good feast. That’s the way we survived. My dad would say ‘we survive in this Country.’” The painting carries that legacy forward—marking Yumari as a place of learning, sustenance, and deep familial connection. By painting this site, Brown continues a tradition of knowledge-sharing and cultural resilience, embedding his story and his father's voice into the canvas.