Dorothy Napangardi & Kim West Napurrula

Warlpiri artist Dorothy Napangardi (1952-2013) created strong minimalist paintings of Mina Mina that have become emblematic of this women’s ceremonial site in the Tanami Desert. Her recent death has left a deeply felt loss to family, friends and admirers. In 2013 Japingka Gallery hosted this tribute exhibition of the artist’s works, including classic images from her Mina Mina series.

In 2001, Dorothy Napangardi won the coveted Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award for a black and white work, ‘Salt on Mina Mina’. In 2002, she was honoured with a major survey at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney.

Kim West Napurrula was born around 1960 near Kiwirrkura in the Gibson Desert south of Lake Mackay in Western Australia. In 1963, Kim’s family was met by Jeremy Long’s Welfare Patrol, a historic time when desert families that had come in from the desert were trying to make contact with those left behind. At the time, her family was camping at Willi Rockhole, slightly east of Kintore in the Gibson Desert.

Kim’s family includes her late father Freddy West Tjakamarra, one of the original shareholders of Papunya Tula Artists, and older brother Bobby West, traditional owner of Kiwirrkura and spokesperson for Papunya Tula. Kim West Napurrula was married to Yuendumu George, and lives at the community of Kiwirrkura in Western Australia.

Kim West Napurrula’s country is located around Marrapinti, a significant Women’s Dreaming site. It incorporates desert soakages that run along the border country between Northern Territory and Western Australian. In her paintings Kim West Napurrula depicts her traditional country and the associated Women’s Ceremonies and Dreamings from the heartlands of Pintupi territory.

Exhibition Dates: Friday 30 August to 4 October, 2013 at Japingka Gallery

Further information is available on exhibiting artists on the following links:

• Dorothy Napangardi: Ground Breaking Australian Artist
• Dorothy Napangardi
• Kim West Napurrula