Joylene Reid Napangardi

Joylene Reid Napangardi is a Pintupi woman from Walungurru (Kintore), 530 Kms to the west of Alice Springs. Joylene Reid Napangardi comes from a strong artistic lineage: her parents are Walangkura Napurrula and Kalara Tjapangarti. After growing up at the Ikuntji settlement of Haasts Bluff, in 1981 she returned to Tjukurla and eventually settled in Kintore.

Joylene Reid Napangardi’s works are primarily ‘Women’s Tingari’ depictions of her country and the sacred women’s sites between the communities of Kintore and Kiwirrkura in the Western Desert of Central Australia. Her people would conduct important ceremonies at these sites and tell stories of travelling ancestors who would gather at the sites to rest, sing and dance.

Joylene Reid Napangardi’s choice of colours usually represent the more traditional pigments used for ground designs and body decoration. Her sense of design and movement shows the close association between painted images and the physical landscape. Joylene Reid Napangardi is one of the emerging artists of the Western Desert who seeks to build on the traditional knowledge that is handed down through her culture. The stories and the iconography that are central to the knowledge base of Western Desert people provide a valuable resource to these younger artists. For them it is the way forward to build on the strong reputations that have been forged by elder artists as they established a strong and resilient Western desert art style that commands international recognition. Aboriginal art status – Mid career artist.