MARSHALL ROBINSON

Marshall Jangala Robertson was born in 1974 in Darwin, the closest hospital to Lajamanu, an Aboriginal community in semi-arid country on the edge of the desert. He is married to Justinna Simms and spends time between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

Marshall's paintings tells the story of a Jangala ‘watiya-warnu’ ancestor who travelled south from a small hill called Ngurlupurranyangu to Yamunturrngu (Mount Liebig).

As he travelled he picked the ‘watiya-warnu’ seeds and placed them in ‘parrajas’ (food    carriers), one of which he carried on his head.

Watiya-warnu is a seed bearing tree that grows in open spinifex or mulga country.   When people returned to their camp after  collecting the seeds they would make large windbreaks for shelter and winnow the seed in the late afternoon.

Immature ‘watiya-warnu’ seed is ground into a paste for medicine. The associated ‘watiya-warnu’ ceremony involves the preparation of a large ground painting