Nancy Ross Nungurrayi

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Nancy Ross Nungurrayi


Born:			1935 
Died:			2009	
Region:			Western Desert WA,NT
Community:		Kintore 
Outstation:		Kiwirrkura, Lake Mackay, 
Language:		Pintupi 
Social Affiliation:	Nungurrayi subsection 
Subjects:		Tingari, Women Ceremonies

Notes:
Nancy is the sister of George Tjungurrayi and Naata Nungurrayi, both highly sought after rtists. It was in 1994 that saw the emergence of the Pintupi 'painting women' in a "women's painting camp behind the women's mountain at Kintore involving senior ceremonial women from the Kintore region and their kinswomen from the Ikuntji Women's Centre at Haast Bluff. They are famous for their bold expressive line works and then 'piling on' of paint in a dense and often vibrantly coloured profusion to create some of the most radiant and richly textured surfaces ever to be seen.

Nancy Nungurrayi from the Pintubi Language group from Kintore is one of the leading Kintore women artists & is in her 70's. A respected senior elder whose artwork is sought after by collectors worldwide. All her works are associated with women's concerns and Women's Law (Tingari cycle). She paints traditional designs depicting sacred women's sites and women performing sacred women's ceremonies in the Kintore area as well as the designs that they paint on their bodies when performing ceremonies.

Generally, the Tingari are a group of mythical characters of the Dreaming who travelled over vast stretches of the country, performing rituals and creating and shaping particular sites. The Tingari women usually followed the Tingari men and were accompanied by novices. It is the Tingari men and women's travels and adventures that are enshrined in a number of song cycles. It is only through initiation ceremony that Nancy has permission to paint the stories that she does. Nancy Nungurrayi is the mother of Marlene Nampitjinpa.