"Seven Sisters Dreaming" By Michelle Possum Nungurrayi

Artist: Michelle Possum Nungurrayi

Size (H x W): 158 x 215 cm

This is the ancient myth of the Milky Way and the Seven Sisters (Pleiades).

This dreaming was inherited by Michelle from her mother and grandmother and given to Michelle by her father.

The story takes place at Twenty Mile, located near Napperby Creek in the Northern Territory. The Seven Sisters travelled over a vast expanse of country, until they realised that they were being followed by a man called Wati-Nyiru (who was a Tjakamarra man). With little hope of relief, the Seven Sisters escaped through a fire at Kurlunyalimpa to the Milky Way, where they became the stars of the Pleiades in the constellation Taurus.

There they are safe and at rest and watch over all the women on earth.

Wati-Nyiru followed them to the heavens and become the star Orion, unable to get near them as they move across the night sky. The painting depicts the cloud formations in front of the Milky Way in the night sky. The seven concentric circles represent the Seven Sisters while the lone star represents Orion (Wati-Nyiru).

About the Artist – Michelle Possum Nungurrayi

Michelle Possum Nungurrayi is a highly respected Indigenous artist, born in 1970 in Papunya, a community in the Northern Territory known as the birthplace of the contemporary Aboriginal art movement. She is the daughter of Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, one of Australia’s most celebrated artists and a founding figure in the Western Desert art tradition, and Emily Nakamarra Possum.

Michelle was taught to paint by her father, and she carries forward his legacy while also sharing her own voice through art. Over time, she has developed a distinctive style that includes Women’s Dreamings and Ceremonial stories, handed down through her family and community.

Her paintings reflect deep knowledge of Country, culture and ceremony. The symbols within her work represent sacred sites, women’s ceremonies, animals, plants, waterholes, digging sticks, footsteps, and more - all woven into rich, living stories of the land and her people.

Michelle’s work is widely collected both in Australia and internationally. She continues to paint in a way that honours her ancestors while sharing the beauty and depth of her culture with the world.