Sharing culture through art across Australia
RPS works with clients right across the country on projects that enrich Australian communities. Understanding that community enriches our business too, we’ve proudly worked with social enterprise artists’ collective - Warlukurlangu Artists - to give story and life to RPS workspaces in 2019.
Established in 1985, Warlukurlangu Artists Centre is a not-for-profit organisation 100% owned by Aboriginal artists from the remote desert communities of Yuendumu and Nyirripi in the Northern Territory.
Not only does the centre promote Indigenous cultural expression and help emerging artists share their work with the world, it is a key economic empowerment mechanism for local communities, with a large portion of the proceeds from each sale going directly to artists and many other community initiatives funded and facilitated by the organisation.
RPS employees from Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Perth and Newcastle were invited to select an emerging Warlukurlangu artist whose work resonated with them. These artists were then commissioned to create original pieces for RPS workspaces.
Executive General Manager for Insights Communications and Creative, Alistair Kingston, was a driving force behind the initiative. Himself a passionate collector of Aboriginal art, Alistair connected RPS with Warlukurlangu and worked with the organisation to commission the works.
Each piece holds a unique meaning and story, so check out the inspiration behind each artwork below!
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Discover more about Warlukurlangu Artists here.
Ngapa Jukkurrpa (Water Dreaming) - Puyurru
Artist: Leavannia Nampijinpa Watson (b. 1990)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
The site depicted in this painting is Puyurru, west of Yuendumu where in the usually dry creek beds are ‘mulju’ or naturally occurring wells. Water Dreaming tells the story of two Jangala men ¬– rainmakers - who sang the rain, unleashing a giant storm. As the storm travelled across the country, the water dreaming built hills at Ngamangama using baby clouds and stuck long pointy clouds into the ground at Jukajuka, where they can still be seen today as rock formations.
Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming) – Cockatoo Creek
Artist: Shikera Pitjara Petrick (b.1988)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
‘Yarla’ or bush potato (Ipomea costata) are fibrous tubers that grow beneath a low spreading plant. Yarla are good to eat and when cooked they are really soft and tasty. Bush Potato Dreaming tells of ‘yarla’ and ‘wapirti’ (bush carrot, Vigna lanceolata) ancestors fighting a big battle. In contemporary Warlpiri paintings, the curved lines of the ‘kuruwarri’ (ceremonial designs) represent the ‘ngamarna’ (vine-like tendrils) from which grow ‘jinjirla’ (flowers). ‘Karlangu’ (digging sticks) are usually represented as straight lines. ‘Karlangu’ are used by women to dig for bush tucker like Yarla and Wapirti which are found underground.
Pikilyi Jukurrpa (Vaughan Springs Dreaming)
Artist: Theo (Faye) Nangala Hudson (b. 1989)
Media: Acrylic on canvas
Pikilyi is a large and important waterhole and natural spring near Mount Doreen station. Vaughan Springs Dreaming tells of the home of two rainbow serpents living together at the waterhole as man and wife in a taboo relationship as they were from different skin groups. In return for picking lice off their bodies, the serpents allowed women of the Napanangka and Napangardi skin groups to take water from the springs. The spirits of these two rainbow serpents are still at Pikilyi today.
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About RPS
Founded in 1970, RPS, A Tetra Tech Company (RPS) is a leading global professional services firm of 5,000 consultants and service providers. Operating in 125 countries, working across six continents we define, design and manage projects that create shared value to a complex, urbanising and resource-scarce world.
RPS delivers a broad range of services in six sectors: property, energy, transport, water, defence and government services and resources. Services provided across RPS' six sectors cover twelve service clusters: project and program management, design and development, water services, environment, advisory and management consulting, exploration and development, planning and approvals, health, safety and risk, oceans and coastal, laboratories, training and communications, creative and digital services.
RPS stands out for its clients by using its deep expertise to solve problems that matter, making them easy to understand. Making complex easy.
For further information, please visit www.rpsgroup.com.