Bush Potato - Lorna Fencer Naparrula

The Little Bush Potato, Wapartali, is a cherished bush food of the Warlpiri people and was the artist’s totem. Found beneath the desert sands after seasonal rains, it sustains both body and culture, gathered through intimate knowledge of Country passed down through generations of women.

For Napurrurla women, the principal Dreaming associated with this plant recounts the battle between Wapartali (the Little Bush Potato) and Yumurpa (the Big Bush Potato). The narrative describes a dispute that ultimately resolves in a just settlement, restoring balance between the two. It is a morality story, teaching the values of fairness, reciprocity and social harmony that guide Warlpiri life.

This Dreaming was also central to the artist’s ceremonial responsibilities and formed one of the foundational narratives she carried. In painting Wapartali, she was not merely depicting a food source but articulating a living Law. The rhythmic fields of mark-making evoke the underground network of tubers, the movement across Country in search of sustenance, and the ancestral forces embedded within the land itself.