Melissa Napangardi Williams
Melissa Napangardi Williams
Aboriginal Warlpiri woman
Melissa Napangardi Williams grew up in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north-west of Alice Springs in the NT of Australia. Melissa Napangardi began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation in 2004. She paints her Father’s Wanakiji Jukurrpa (Bush Tomato Dreaming), Yarla Jukurrpa (Bush Potato Dreaming) and Yuparli Jukurrpa (Bush Banana Dreaming). She also paints her Mother’s Wardapi Jukurrpa (Goanna Dreaming). These stories were passed down to her by her family and their ancestors before them for millennia. She uses an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of traditional motifs with her own ideas of design and pattern.