Indigenous Art of the Dreamtime

Eunice Napangardi

Eunice earns her own place as a master of desert art and one of the most significant women to paint on canvas in the new ‘desert art’ style after 1971. Her first husband was the famous Kaapa Tjampitjinpa, one of the forefathers of the desert movement at Papunya. Eunice worked initially with Kaapa on his ‘town paintings’ and then painted in her own right from the early 1980’s.

29. Bush Banana Dreaming 1991, 81 x 58cm

Eunice’s second husband, Maxie Tjampitjinpa (qv) was also a star of the painting movement and she painted and travelled with him. Working with both of these talented and respected men gave her the opportunity to become one of the first of the women Aboriginal painters to emerge from the desert. Having accepted that early opportunity she continues, in the late 1990’s, to make images which relate to her knowledge of the land and the ‘bush tucker’ which it bears. Land, food and water were vital elements to nomadic desert groups which frequently walked the thin line between survival and death. The celebration of these elements and their creators in the ‘Jukurrpa’ (Dreamtime) remain integral to the designs and images produced by artists who lived through that experience. Eunice is one such artist. She provides a link to a time when life was much more simple - a time when men hunted and women gathered berries, seeds and wild fruit which would both nourish and heal themselves and their families.

30. Bush Banana Dreaming 1999, 63 x 38cm

Of course it should be noted that Aboriginal women have always been artists in the traditional sense and within certain cultural roles. As landowners they were responsible for a body of ritual knowledge which spoke directly of their land. Women have always sung, danced, chanted and ‘painted up’ for ceremonies in which they celebrate continuing, ancient traditions. And in that sense they have always been artists, performers and mentors. Eunice is dedicated to continuing that role and she encourages young women of her extended family to paint and chant with her in the hope that they will carry the great body of knowledge forward. That is her hope for the future.

Eunice tends to stylise her work and in the 1990’s has become noted for her treatment of the “Yuparli” or Bush Banana Dreaming. In part her works show variations of the bush banana plant with its radiating, patterned vines. The bush banana grows in rock crevices close to the dry riverbeds 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.

In these paintings, which also signify the journey of the Yuparli ancestors, she demonstrates great technique, control and artistic flair combined with a sense of colour that most western painters would envy. They are exotic pieces which have outstanding aesthetic appeal. Her paintings are unique and as is the case with artists such as Rover Thomas and Emily Kngwarreye she has broken new stylistic ground. We speak of a “Eunice” in the same way as we speak of an “Emily”.

31. Bush Banana Dreaming 1998,71 x 46cm

Eunice was born at Yuendumu, to the north of Papunya in the early 1950’s and she is a Luritja/Warlpiri woman. Her sisters are Pansy Napangardi (qv) Alice Napangardi and Rene Robinson Napangardi. Pansy and Rene are prominent painters and the sisters share several dreamings. An animated, spirited person, Eunice seems to be reflected by the vivacity and movement which is evident in each of her paintings. While she is active in the preservation of her culture through song and dance, she also portrays the living traditions of her people through her visual imagery. Eunice was one of three women Aboriginal artists to be selected for the Centennial Travelling Exhibition in 1988. During 1989 her work was shown in the Jukurrpa exhibition at Sydney’s Blaxland Gallery and was also featured in the Aboriginal Arts Gallery in Sydney in 1989. With her paintings gaining recognition, the Alice Springs Airport commissioned paintings for the opening in 1991. During the same year her work was included in the Washington DC World Bank Exhibition, “Modern Art-Ancient Icon”. Her paintings are to be found in the Wollongong City Art Gallery, Federal Airports Corporation Collection and the Kelton Foundation Collection in the USA and in many private collections throughout the world.

32. Bush Banana Dreaming 1999, 63 x 35cm.

33. Bush Banana Dreaming 1998, 152 x 91cm

Eunice depicts a stylised representation of the bush banana plant with its radiating vines. The bush banana grows in rock crevices close to dry riverbeds in spinifex country. The bush banana is illustrated in a variety of colours indicating the different stages of the plant’s life cycle. This edible fruit can be eaten either raw or cooked and is collected on a daily basis by Aboriginal women.