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Eileen zooms in to provide a macro view that seems to extend beyond the edges of the canvas. The vibrancy of color and luminous use of white is reminiscent of her mother’s works, while the subject depicted is her father’s conception site. Located to the west of Walungurru, Tjitururrnga is a soakage water site that sits within rocky hills, known for a profusion of jitjara (desert yam from ipomoea costata). Men and women traveled to this site in the distant past, and subsequent generations have followed in their footsteps. Eileen’s reverberating lines capture the life-sustaining nature of this location as a burst of energy that vibrates across Country.
Language Group: Pintupi
Date: Born 1956
Eileen Napaltjarri was born at Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) in December 1956. Her father Charlie Wartuma Tjungurrayi was one of the founding members of Papunya Tula Artists, and her mother Tatali Nangala was also a very successful artist with the company. Eileen grew up in Ikuntji and later moved to Walungurru (Kintore) with her family when it was first established. Eileen completed her first painting in 1996, but did not paint regularly until 1999. The main site Eileen depicts in her painting is Tjitururrnga, which is slightly west of Kintore and the birthplace of her father. Her work is held in numerous important public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio and the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College.
Biographical information courtesy of Papunya Tula Artists.

EILEEN NAPALTJARRI, Tjitururrnga, 2020
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas. 24 × 21 5/8 in. (61 × 55 cm). Commissioned by Richard Klingler and Jane Slatter for Irriṯitja Kuwarri Tjungu | Past and Present Together.
© estate of the artist licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Ltd for Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd.

Eileen Napaltjarri, 2021.
Photo by John Kean.

Eileen Napaltjarri.
Photo courtesy of Papunya Tula Artists.