Eunice Napangardi

A highly talented artist of Warlpiri descent, Eunice was part of the advent of the Aboriginal Art Movement at Papunya in the early 1970's. During this important period there was a vast upsurge of the human spirit when a gifted people, oppressed by years of subjugation, stood up once more.

Eunice responded to this new found freedom by expressing the rich culture of her people through art. She produced some of the most magnificent canvas paintings to come out of the area.

Rising to prominence through her depiction's of the Bush Banana Dreaming (signifying the journey of the Yuparli ancestors), Eunice's paintings are totally unique. She demonstrates a great artistic flair and surety of touch in her ability to represent one dreaming.

Eunice's paintings depict variations of the bush banana plant with its radiating vines. The bush banana, or Yuparli, grows in rock crevices close to the dry river beds in the spinifex country. It is collected by the Aboriginal women to be eaten as fruit or used for medicinal purposes. Since the bush banana plant has both nutritional and healing properties it is of immense importance to the Aboriginal people of Central Australia.

Married for many years to the late Kaapa Jampitjinpa, one of the forefathers of the Aboriginal contemporary art movement, Eunice now paints with the highly acclaimed artist Maxi Jampitjinpa.

Eunice is an animated and spirited person who is deeply reflected in the core of her art. While she is active in the preservation of her culture through song and dance, she portrays the living traditions of her people through her magnificent paintings.

Eunice was one of three women aboriginal artist to be selected for Bicentennial Travelling Exhibition in 1988. In 1989 she was in the Jukurrpa exhibition at the Blaxland Gallery and was featured in the Aboriginal Arts Gallery in Sydney in 1989. With her paintings gaining recognition the Alice Springs Airport commissioned her work for the opening in 1991 and at the same time she was involved in a travelling exhibition that started in Washington, USA. Her collections include the Wollongong City Art Gallery, Federal Airports Corporation and the Richard Kelton Collection.