MITJILI NAPURRULA (c. 1945-2019) Watiya, 2018

MITJILI NAPURRULA (1945-2019)

Mitjili Napurrula was born into a family that was important to the indigenous group of Papunya in roughly 1945. She started painting in 1993 with the Ikuntji Women’s Centre from the encouragement of her family. Her most frequent motif in her work is the watiya tjuta, (Acacia Trees) and they came from drawings that her mother used to create while also being inspired by the land of her father’s country Uwalki.  Mitjili became internationally known for her use of bold colors in her graphic style to tell the stories of her people. She passed away in 2019 and is a prominent figure in Australian Aboriginal art.