Sonya Edney - Burringurrah Dreaming

Sonya Edney relates the Creation story of her country at Burringurrah or Mt Augustus, located inland in central Western Australia. The ancestral young man Burringurrah ran away from Aboriginal law and was chased and punished by a spearing in the leg. As he was running he dragged his fighting stick along the ground and this formed the rivers and creeks of the Upper Gascoyne.

Sonya says ‘as we were growing up in the bush we were told the story of the sacred mountain and the Burringurrah story. When there was a big storm approaching you would often see a dust storm first and sometimes thunder from the rock even though no clouds had yet appeared.’

The mount changes through many different colours from dark blues and purples, according to the spirit Dreaming of Burringurrah. Then when warnah buna, the thunderstorm, comes it fills up the rivers and creeks, floods the dry land and starts the wildflowers blooming across the country. ‘All my paintings come from that Burringurrah country – that’s where I’m from. The exhibition is named Burringurrah Dreaming because it’s my dream, it’s my story, it’s my journey.’ See the exhibition at Japingka Gallery until 30 September 2024.

Read:Sonya Edney & The Beginning Of Something Bigger