Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa aka Mrs. Bennett
Punkilpirri (1), 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 152cm x 122cm
Provenance: Yanda Aboriginal Art, Alice Springs.
Punkilpirri (2), 2012
Acrylic on canvas, 152cm x 122cm
Provenance: Yanda Aboriginal Art, Alice Springs.
Nyuapaiya Nampitjinpa, also known as Mrs Bennett, was a founder of the Haasts Bluff/Kintore Women's Painting Camp in 1994. She was a central character who produced groundbreaking works, distinct from fellow artists in the region. Mrs Bennett's works show her mother’s Dreamings, which are connected to sites at Yumarra, Wantjunga and Tjalilli rockholes near Papunya, Pukara, Ngalkinginga and Munkara rockholes. She particularly captured women’s ceremonies and rituals, along with the gathering of bush tucker. Inspired by the imma ceremonial dance body paintings, she depicts sand dune country and surrounding rocky outcrops (1) (2).
Mrs Bennett has depicted a Womens' Dreaming at Punkilpirri, a large permanent water site to the south of the Tjukula Community. A large group of women camped at this site and caught the large lizard known as ngulpa which they cooked and ate.