Ningura Napurrula

26 Jun-17 Jul 2022

Overview

The Gallery of Everything is honoured to present six large-scale works by  Ningura Napurrula.

Born in 1938 in Watulka, Western Australia, Napurrula’s initiation into image-making began at Papunya Tula Artists: a collective established to support local image-makers.

Working alongside her husband, Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi, Napurrula refined her craft during the 1980s, as a distinct and impressive aesthetic emerged.

The material was profound and breath-taking. Napurrula joined the Kintore/Haasts Bluff project, an all-women’s painting project to focus on her own identity as a guardian of the ceremonial. 
 
Working on linen sourced by her patrons, Napurrula evolved a practice of distinct colouration and monumental shape. Pieces often focussed on the geography of the region and its role in local female history. 

The works led to international acclaim. In 2006 Napurrula was invited to produce works for Musée du Quai Branly in Paris and was exhibited widely until her death in 2013. 
 
Naparrula’s work is in a number of significant collections, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington DC) and the National Gallery and Museum of Australia (Canberra). This is the artist’s first solo exhibition in Europe.