Galuma Maymuru, when she created this, was the only surviving daughter of the great artist Narritjin. Galuma was one of the first Yolngu women to be instructed to paint (by her father) the sacred clan designs that were previously the domain of high ranking men. The exhibition this work was created for - Mother Cloud - referenced the maternal wet season. The artist embraced sacred designs used in Yolngu ceremonial body painting for women to portray the sacred woman Nyapilingu in the form of wapitja.
In the exhibition Mother Cloud (in reference to the maternal wet season) , Galuma Maymuru embraced sacred designs used in Yolngu women's ceremonial body painting to portray the sacred woman Nyapilingu in the form of wapitja, digging stick or sceptre. - from Alcaston Gallery documentation