Nyarlku and the Pearl Shells

Encounter

The Story Behind the Window

This work responds to a Walmajarri story from the southern Kimberley. In the Waljirri, or Dreaming, Nyarlku the bilby finds shining jakurli—pearl shell—in the shallow waters of Paruku. Wanting to take the shells to larger water near Broome, Nyarlku gathers them at night, when their brilliance will not reveal them, and travels underground toward the coast. The story connects an inland lake, desert Country, salt water, and the extraordinary movement of pearl shell. It belongs to Walmajarri cultural inheritance and should not be treated as a generic Australian creation tale.

Interpretation

Within the Artwork

The painting places Nyarlku within darkness, holding a luminous shell while a band of color crosses the distance behind him. His body is small compared with the country through which he travels, but the shell becomes a point of concentrated light. Jones does not attempt to reproduce ceremonial imagery or claim authority over the story. The work responds to its visible narrative: a small animal, a treasured natural material, an immense journey, and the connection between waters that appear far apart.

Return

The Artist’s Thread

Jones was drawn to the scale of the journey and the contrast between Nyarlku’s small arms and the abundance he tries to carry. The work honors ingenuity and persistence while directing viewers back toward the people and Country to which the story belongs.

Discovery

Follow the Thread

• WWF-Australia: Nyarlku takes the jakurli to Broome A public telling identifying the story as Walmajarri cultural inheritance.
• Western Australian Museum: Guwan Pearl shell, ceremony, exchange, and belonging to Salt Water.
• Nyamba Buru Yawuru: Lustre A Yawuru-connected exhibition on pearl shell and the history of pearling.