
Ningurra Napurrula
Born: c.1938
Died: 2013
Birthplace: Watulka, Western Australia
Language: Pintupi
Region: KintoreNingura Napurrula Gibson was born around 1938 at Watulka in Western Australia, south of the modern Kiwirrkura community, Ningura Napurrula moved to Papunya in the early days of the settlement with her husband Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi, a renowned artists and highly respected Pintupi elder who held significant knowledge of his countries Dreaming stories (now deceased). In 1996 she was part of a group of elderly women from Kintore and Kiwirrkura who began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in their own right. Characteristic of her work is a strong dynamism and rich linear design-compositions created with heavy layers of acrylic paint. Ningura Napurrula depict designs associated with the rock hole sites of Palturunya and Wirrulnga, east of the Kiwirrkura Community (Mount Webb) in Western Australia. The concentric circles represent rock holes and the arcs represent the higher rocky outcrops near the site. The U shapes represent women camped at the site. Ningura depicts the mythological events of her ancestors. Her artwork focuses on the travels of her female ancestors, the sacred sites that they passed, and the mythological significance of the bush tucker that they collected. In mythological times, one old woman, Kutunga Napanangka, passed through this site during her travels towards the east. She passed through numerous sites along the way before arriving at the permanent water site of Muruntji, south west of Mt. Leibig. These travels and rituals help to explain the current customs and the ceremonial lives of these Pintupi women.Ningura Napurrula was one of the 50 Australia’s most collectable artists by the Australian Art Collector magazine in 2007Exhibitions
• 2000- Wiliam Mora Aboriginal Art
• 2001 – ‘Aborigena’ at the Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy
• 2002- Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
• 2003- Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 2003 – ‘Australian Contemporary Aboriginal Art in Prague’, Toskansky Place, Prague, Czech Republic
• 2003 – ‘Masterpieces from the Western Desert’, Gavin Graham Gallery, London, United KingdomCollections
Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
redrock gallery, Melbourne.Awards:
• 2001, Finalist 18th Telstra NATSIAA
• 2002, 32nd Alice Prize, Highly Commended
• One of her works was depicted on an Australia Post postage stamp in 2003
In 2005 Ningura Napurrula was invited to paint a portion of the ceiling in the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, France.
2017-2018: Work by Ningura Napurrula from the collectioln of Musée de Quai Branly is on view in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Died: 2013
Birthplace: Watulka, Western Australia
Language: Pintupi
Region: KintoreNingura Napurrula Gibson was born around 1938 at Watulka in Western Australia, south of the modern Kiwirrkura community, Ningura Napurrula moved to Papunya in the early days of the settlement with her husband Yala Yala Gibbs Tjungurrayi, a renowned artists and highly respected Pintupi elder who held significant knowledge of his countries Dreaming stories (now deceased). In 1996 she was part of a group of elderly women from Kintore and Kiwirrkura who began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in their own right. Characteristic of her work is a strong dynamism and rich linear design-compositions created with heavy layers of acrylic paint. Ningura Napurrula depict designs associated with the rock hole sites of Palturunya and Wirrulnga, east of the Kiwirrkura Community (Mount Webb) in Western Australia. The concentric circles represent rock holes and the arcs represent the higher rocky outcrops near the site. The U shapes represent women camped at the site. Ningura depicts the mythological events of her ancestors. Her artwork focuses on the travels of her female ancestors, the sacred sites that they passed, and the mythological significance of the bush tucker that they collected. In mythological times, one old woman, Kutunga Napanangka, passed through this site during her travels towards the east. She passed through numerous sites along the way before arriving at the permanent water site of Muruntji, south west of Mt. Leibig. These travels and rituals help to explain the current customs and the ceremonial lives of these Pintupi women.Ningura Napurrula was one of the 50 Australia’s most collectable artists by the Australian Art Collector magazine in 2007Exhibitions
• 2000- Wiliam Mora Aboriginal Art
• 2001 – ‘Aborigena’ at the Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, Italy
• 2002- Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
• 2003- Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
• 2003 – ‘Australian Contemporary Aboriginal Art in Prague’, Toskansky Place, Prague, Czech Republic
• 2003 – ‘Masterpieces from the Western Desert’, Gavin Graham Gallery, London, United KingdomCollections
Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
redrock gallery, Melbourne.Awards:
• 2001, Finalist 18th Telstra NATSIAA
• 2002, 32nd Alice Prize, Highly Commended
• One of her works was depicted on an Australia Post postage stamp in 2003
In 2005 Ningura Napurrula was invited to paint a portion of the ceiling in the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris, France.
2017-2018: Work by Ningura Napurrula from the collectioln of Musée de Quai Branly is on view in the Louvre Abu Dhabi.