From her earliest works, Tjunkiya Napaltjarri hinted at what would become her signature approach, employing a limited color palette to explore the potential of contrast. In Women’s Ceremonies at Yumari, vibrant red is set against vivid white, with the juxtaposition intensified through generously applied white dots that merge to form textural fields. In later works, Tjunkiya further developed this technique, scratching lines into her thick fields of paint to create a distinct surface finish. She also established her preferred color combination, saturating the canvas with a thick coat of oranges delicately highlighted with whites along the slivers of black background that are left exposed, to create the detail within the composition. In most paintings, this elegant line work references the site of Yumari, with its rockholes captured in circular form and its sandhills in linear splices. Tjunkiya’s mother was the sister of Uta Uta Tjangala, and she would often visit Yumari with her parents. In offering constant iterations of this one location, her painting functioned as a means of reminiscing and countering the passing of time.

When I paint, I feel happy, I don’t feel sick, I don’t feel any pain. I feel strong and healthy, like I’m a young girl again.