YINARUPA NANGALA
Yinarupa Nangala (b. 1960)
Country, 2018
150 x 90 cm. Acrylic on linen canvas
Provenance: Certificate of authenticity from arts centre
ARTIST
Yinarupa Nangala was born circa 1948 in the Kiwirrkurra region of Western Australia. She began painting in 1996, and has gained recognition as a leading figure in Australia’s contemporary Aboriginal art scene.
Nangala has a rich traditional background influenced by the Papunya Tula art movement of which her late father, the esteemed Anatjari Tjampitjinpa, was a founding member. Early in her career Nangala developed a distinctive style of weaving together her spiritual heritage as well as the physical environment of her homeland. Predominately using black and white, Nangala specifically paints the ‘Ngamurru’ in Kiwirrkurra, a meeting place for Aboriginal women where ceremonial business is conducted. Many of the designs in her work depict important features of the landscape including rock holes, which serve as important water sources, women’s meeting places and abundant food areas. She makes use of a combination of traditional and contemporary symbols providing an aerial view of the Pintupi area.
In 2009 Yinarupa Nangala won the General Painting section of the 26th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in Darwin.
Nangala now resides in Alice Springs with her five children where she continues to evolve her painting style with frequent visits to her homelands near Jupiter in W.A.