Hailing from further west than many of the other women at Walungurru, Naata Nungurrayi became known for assertive depictions of her Country around Karilywarra (in the Pollock Hills), busy with detail and dominated by orange. Naata’s works are devoid of symmetry and she avoids repetition, both within individual works and across her practice. While many of her peers have developed a singular style within which they explore subtle shifts, Naata has celebrated change, confidently painting distinct works that provide insight into the vitality of Country with its radiating heat, shifting sandhills, partially hidden rockholes and variation within vegetation across vast areas. Naata does not offer stylized views of sites, but instead paints atmospheric works that capture the physical reality and personality of Country, as intimately known through her lived experience underscored by deep cultural knowledge.

– CARA PINCHBECK

I am painting my home, my Country—women’s Kanaputa story. Traveling along Yirrututu, Tjuntupul, Marrapinti, Ngami, Wirrul. A long time ago, I traveled all around this Country, from place to place. I was a young girl at Marrapinti. Walking with my family and two sisters. I came to Marrapinti as a young mother. Traveling with my son Kenny, who was born at Likilnga. Later, we travelled west to Unkunya, where my other son, Titji, was born. I lost my last child, my daughter, at Unkunya and my husband at Yumurru. It was dry and hot times. We walked east, all the way to Pinpirrnga, drinking from rockholes, sleeping on ground with windbreaks. We then walked to Amunturrngu (Mount Liebig), where we saw the windmill and speared a bullock. After that, we followed the road to Papunya.