Tjunkiya Napaltjarri

Tjunkiya Napaltjarri Biography

Tjunkiya Napaltjarri born in born circa1927 in Kintore, a remote community northwest of Walungurru in Australia’s Northern Territory. The daughter of renowned artist Mitjili Napurrula, Tjunkiya, like many female indigenous artists, began her artistic career creating batik works. It was not until the mid 1990s that Tjunkiya and her sister, Wintjiya Napaltjarri, were introduced to painting through the Minyma Tjukurrpa (Women's Dreaming) painting project.

Seeking a place to further extend her artistic knowledge and practice Tjunkiya joined the Papunya Tula art centre, a nearby community famous for its art and high calibre of Aboriginal artists.

Tjunkiya is most readily known for depicting her signature Umari dreaming. These works represent a Rockhole Site which is located in Kiwirrkura; an area in the Western Desert near the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. This site was of particular importance to the women of Tjunkiya's tribe. The senior women would travel to this area to conduct their sacred ceremonies and collect bush tucker. Until her passing in 2009 she was regarded as a senior figure in the Pintupi.

A highly sought after contemporary Western desert artist, Tjunkiya’s work continues to garner much acclaim and is featured in a number of important private and public collections.

Tjunkiya Napaltjarri Description

Tjunkiya Napaltjarri Resumé

Collections

National Gallery of Australia
Araluen Collection (Alice Springs)
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Campbelltown City Art Gallery
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
National Gallery of Victoria
Supreme Court of the Northern Territory
Artbank

Exhibitions

Minyma Tjukurrpa`, 1995.
`Twenty-five Years and Beyond`, 1999.
`PAPUNYA TULA Genesis and Genius`, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2000.