Pansy Napangardi

This story has been passed on to Pansy by her mother and her maternal grandfather. She tells the story of a hail storm that happened a long time ago. The willy wagtail – a small black and white bird – told the elders of the community at Illpyli that there was a cloud coming from the west that would turn into a huge storm that would cause a lot of damage to their community. The willy wagtail told them to build a fence which was done. When the storm broke big hailstones fell – as big as oranges and they went deep into the ground and causing much damage. Today the water from the spring at Illpyli in that country is cold, cold water. Pansy shows the journey of the two sisters in that country by the sequence of concentric circular campsites through the middle of the painting. Pansy’s style of multi-coloured dotting was unique to her she has taught that technique to three or four other artists.