COLLEEN WALLACE NUNGARI

Colleen Wallace Nungurrayi is an Eastern Arrernte artist from Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa), a community located south-east of Mparntwe (Alice Springs) in the Northern Territory. She grew up between Santa Teresa and Alice Springs, developing a strong connection to her Country and cultural traditions from an early age.

 

Colleen began painting in the 1990s, encouraged by her stepmother, the esteemed artist Kathleen Kemarre Wallace, whose influence has been central to her artistic development. She is married to Colin Bird, son of renowned Utopia artist Ada Bird Petyarre, and together they have five children, continuing a strong family lineage of artists.

 

A defining focus of Colleen’s work is the depiction of the Irrernte-arenye (Dreamtime Sisters), a significant Eastern Arrernte story passed down to her by Kathleen. These ancestral spirits are believed to watch over important areas of land, including sacred and ceremonial sites. In her paintings, Colleen represents the sisters as ethereal forms moving across the canvas, floating above Country and protecting both the land and those who care for it.

 

Her style combines the traditional dotting techniques of the Central and Western Desert with fine, controlled linework. Through this approach, she creates layered compositions that convey both movement and presence, with the Dreamtime Sisters appearing as guardians within the landscape. These works are among her most sought-after, valued for both their cultural significance and distinctive aesthetic.

 

Earlier in her career, Colleen painted stories from her father’s Country near Gem Tree, north-east of Alice Springs. With permission from her grandfather, the respected senior artist Kenny Tilmouth Penangke, she depicted Yam Dreaming narratives connected to this region. These stories also link to the Country of Ada Bird Petyarre around Mulga Bore, reflecting the interconnected nature of family, land, and cultural knowledge.

 

Colleen Wallace Nungurrayi is recognised for her precise dot work, vibrant use of colour, and strong compositional style. Her work has been widely exhibited in Australia and internationally, including in the United States, and continues to be highly regarded by collectors for its clarity, cultural depth, and visual impact.

Utopia has produced some of the most recognisable names in Aboriginal art and is notable for its strong tradition of discovering female artists. This continues today with a new generation of talented painters who are inspired by greats such as Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarre, Kathleen Petyarre and Ada Bird who worked at Utopia.

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The legacy of these pioneering woman is a diversity of style and approach that welcomes hundreds of other artists from the Utopia clan groups.

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It is a region of approximately 5,000 sq km north-east of Alice Springs and is home to around 2,000 aboriginal people. The region largely lies on aboriginal owned land called Urapuntja, it is made up of several larger communities and some very small ones!

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Art is by far the largest source of employment in an area which lacks employment opportunities and skills. There are well over 250 professional artists in the region, most of them have never attended an art class!

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The creative movement in Utopia began with batik and the work they produced came to international attention and was exhibited around the world. When painting reached the communities in the late 1980’s, acrylic paint on canvas with its quick drying and no mess properties, soon overtook batik.

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This is a multi-generational art movement that has led Utopia's artists to become leaders in female aboriginal art.