Emu Dreaming - Mitjili Gibson Napanangka

Emu Dreaming represents an important ancestral narrative associated with Mitjili Gibson Napanangka’s Country in the Western Desert. The Emu Dreaming is part of Jukurrpa (Dreaming), the living system of law and knowledge that explains the creation of the land and defines cultural responsibility, kinship and ceremony.

In this work, Napanangka depicts the movements and activities of the ancestral emu as it travelled across Country, shaping the landscape and establishing significant sites along its path. The composition is viewed from an aerial perspective, with repeated motifs and rhythmic patterning suggesting tracks, feeding places and ceremonial locations connected to the Dreaming. The carefully layered surface conveys both motion and continuity, reflecting the emu’s journey through time and space.