Mamungari-nya
Mamungari-nya lies beyond the dunes past Tipilnga, south of Watarru in the far northwest of South Australia. The landscape is shaped by claypans, white gums and emu bush, forming an area recognised as a special women’s place.
According to Anangu women’s Tjukurpa, this is where women travelled through Country and were transformed into the marble gums that still stand along the sand ridge.
Renae Nakamarra Nelson paints this story with the guidance and teachings of her nana, who worked in land management and taught her how to care for Country through patch burning, bush food gathering and plant knowledge. The story of Mamungari-nya lives through Renae’s detailed brushwork, fine dotting and layered desert colours that reflect the patterns of women moving across the dunes.
Each painting holds both story and responsibility - a reminder to protect the land and its spirit for generations to come.