Yukultji Napangati
Yukultji Napangati
BORN
CIRCA 1971, NEAR WILKINKARRA (LAKE MCKAY), WA
COUNTRY
PINTUPI
COMMUNITY
KIWIKURRA, WA
LANGUAGE
PINTUPI
About
Yukultji Napangati was born near Wilkinkarra (Lake McKay), north of Kiwikurra, circa 1971. Yukultji and her sister Yalti were members of the famous ‘Pintupi Nine’ – a small group of Pintupi living in the remote Western desert who made national headlines when they first encountered Europeans in 1984. Yukultji was around 14 years old at the time, and she remembers, sleeping with a ‘big mob of dingoes’ to keep warm at night, and wearing nyimparra (hair-string skirts) to carry the lizards they hunted for food.
Yukultji began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in 1996, and quickly rose to fame. She made final selection in the high profile ‘Wynne Landscape Prize’ six times between 2011 and 2018 and was awarded the overall winner in 2018. In 2015 she was invited to exhibit at the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at QGoMA, and in 2019 she travelled to New York to attend her sell-out solo show at the Salon 94 Bowery gallery. Yukultji’s work is held in numerous major collections, most notably the NGA, AGNSW, NGV, QGoMA, AGSA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA).
WORK
Yukultji’s untitled work depicts designs associated with the site of Marrapinti, a rockhole west of the Pollock Hills in Western Australia. A large group of ancestral women camped at this site before continuing their journey to the east, passing through Wala Wala, Kiwikurra and Ngaminya. At Marrapinti, the women made nose bones also known as marrapinti – ceremonial adornments that are worn through the web of the nose.
The women continued their travels towards the east, gathering the edible berries known as kampurarrpa or desert raisins from the small shrub Solanum centrale along the way. Kampurarrpa can be eaten directly from the plant, or ground into a paste and cooked over coals to make damper.
Yukultji is known for her grand, undulating canvases that suggest a topographical view from the upper layers of the atmosphere. The great intricacy and care of her mark making demonstrate the artist’s intimate knowledge of every ripple and fold of her Country.
