"Seven Sister Dreaming" By Marlene Coombe

Artist: Marlene Coombe

Size (H x W): 32 x 32 cm

The Seven Sisters Dreaming is one of the most important and widespread stories in Aboriginal culture, shared across many language groups and regions of Australia. The story follows a group of ancestral women, represented by the Pleiades, as they travel, being pursued by a man from the wrong skin group. Under traditional law, he cannot take a wife from their group, so the sisters flee, weaving a path across the land that forms a sacred songline.

This journey takes place across vast areas of the Central and Western deserts, where each part of the land holds different parts of the story. In some versions, the sisters eventually launch themselves into the sky to escape, where they become the stars of the Pleiades. The man transforms into a star as well, often seen as Orion’s Belt, and continues to chase them across the night sky.

The paintings of this story are rich with meaning and cultural symbolism. Each artwork reflects the artist’s unique connection to this ancient narrative, passed down through their mothers, grandmothers and ancestral lines, and painted with deep respect.