Joylene Reid Napangardi
Joylene Reid Napangardi
Painter (1972-)
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"[Aboriginal] art is centered on storytelling. It is used as a chronicle to convey knowledge of the land, events, and beliefs of the Aboriginal people."
Joylene Reid Napangardi is a Pintupi (Aboriginal Australian language group) woman from Walunguruu (the Aboriginal community of Kintore), an area to the west of Alice Springs in Central Australia. As the daughter of Walangkura Napurrula and Kalara Tjapangarti-- both artists themselves, Napangardi comes from a family of artistry. She is one of the emerging artists of the western desert who aims to build on the traditional knowledge that is handed down through her culture.
Her works are primarily "Women's Tingari" depictions of her country and the sacred women's sites between the communities of Kintore and Kiwirrkura in the western desert of Central Australia. Tingari refers to the Dreaming and its laws for the Pintupi language group. The Tingari is the creation era when the Dreamtime Ancestors moved across the lands, creating the features of the landscape and all aspects of the natural World. The sacred and important ceremonies that occur at these sites tell stories of the travelling Ancestors who would gather to rest, sing, and dance.
Napangardi's choice of colours usually represent the more traditional pigments used for ground designs and body decoration. Her sense of design and movement shows the close association between painted images and the physical landscape.
Joylene Reid Napangardi is an artist to introduce to students because of the storytelling aspect of her work. Everyone has a story to tell and Napangardi's works can serve as an example of a way that students can tell their stories-- or that of their ancestors, through art. In addition to that, the focus of her works can be an introduction to Australia's history and culture by learning about the Aboriginal groups that inhabit it. Dot art is something that can be done with age groups as young as preschool, so lessons around aboriginal dot art can be tailored to the age group in which the educator is working with.
Joylene Reid Napangardi is a Pintupi (Aboriginal Australian language group) woman from Walunguruu (the Aboriginal community of Kintore), an area to the west of Alice Springs in Central Australia. As the daughter of Walangkura Napurrula and Kalara Tjapangarti-- both artists themselves, Napangardi comes from a family of artistry. She is one of the emerging artists of the western desert who aims to build on the traditional knowledge that is handed down through her culture.
Her works are primarily "Women's Tingari" depictions of her country and the sacred women's sites between the communities of Kintore and Kiwirrkura in the western desert of Central Australia. Tingari refers to the Dreaming and its laws for the Pintupi language group. The Tingari is the creation era when the Dreamtime Ancestors moved across the lands, creating the features of the landscape and all aspects of the natural World. The sacred and important ceremonies that occur at these sites tell stories of the travelling Ancestors who would gather to rest, sing, and dance.
Napangardi's choice of colours usually represent the more traditional pigments used for ground designs and body decoration. Her sense of design and movement shows the close association between painted images and the physical landscape.
Joylene Reid Napangardi is an artist to introduce to students because of the storytelling aspect of her work. Everyone has a story to tell and Napangardi's works can serve as an example of a way that students can tell their stories-- or that of their ancestors, through art. In addition to that, the focus of her works can be an introduction to Australia's history and culture by learning about the Aboriginal groups that inhabit it. Dot art is something that can be done with age groups as young as preschool, so lessons around aboriginal dot art can be tailored to the age group in which the educator is working with.
Suggested Reading
Why I love Australia by Bronwyn Bancroft
A glorious book that explores renowned artist Bronwyn Bancroft's reverence and love for the vast and varied awe inspiring landscapes of Australia. Bancroft uses dot art in her illustrations of Australia's many landscapes.
Note: The image on the home page of this website is a dot art painting done by Aboriginal elder, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson