(Known also as; Mitjili Naparrula)

Region: Ikuntji

Language group: Pintupi

Mitjili is a Pintupi woman from the Haasts Bluff region in the Northern Territory. She began painting at the Ikuntji Womens Centre in 1993. She is married to Long Tom Tjapanangka, winner of the prestigious Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award 1999. Her brother is Turkey Tjupurrula Tolson, a long time Papunya Tula artist. Mitjili paints her father’s country: the pristine sandhills, bushes and trees of Uwalki. Her canvases are patterned with strong, vibrant colours, and contain an incredible energy. Mitjili’s distinctive style has gained her a strong following within Australia and internationally with regular sellout exhibitions. Her work was included in the exhibition “Spirit Country: Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art” at the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco 1999, and featured in the prestigious Adelaide Biennial 2000, “Beyond the Pale”.

Watiya Tjuta relates to men’s wooden objects. The Tjukurrpa or Dreaming of this painting concerns the making of spears, an important aspect of men’s business. The staightening of the spears is the theme frequently painted by Mitjili Napurrula’s brother, Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula. The image that is painted is a representation of trees that provide the wood for the making of spears and other wooded objects. The country where the trees are found is Uwalki – Mitjili’s father’s country.

Solo Exhibitions:

• 2000 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
• 1998 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
• 1997 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne
• 1996 Niagara Galleries, Melbourne

Group Exhibitions:

• 2000 Beyond the Pale , Adelaide Festival Exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia.
• 1999-2000 Ikuntji Tjuta touring , Regional Galleries of NSW, QLD, SA, NT.
• 1999 Spirit Country: Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art ,1999, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, USA.
• 1997 Ikuntji Tjuta in Adelaide, Gallerie Australis, SA.
• Ikuntji Tjuta in Canberra, Alliance Francaise, ACT.
• Dreamings: Aboriginal Kunst uit Australie , Netherlands.
• Aboriginal Art, Goteborgs Konstforening, Sweden.
• The Desert Mob Art Show , Araluen, NT.
• Ikuntji Tjuta in Sydney , Hogarth Galleries, NSW.
• 14th National Aboriginal Art Award , NT.
• 28th Alice Prize , Araluen, NT.
• Mulch & Metaphors: The Garden in Contemporary Art , Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Vic.
• 13th Biennial Spring Festival of Drawing , invited, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Vic.
• 1996 Heritage Art Award , ACT.
• Adelaide Fringe Festival Exhibition , Gallerie Australis, SA.
• Adelaide Fringe Festival Desert Exhibition , SA.
• 1995 National Aboriginal Art Award , NT.
• Northern Territory Art Award , Alice Springs, NT.
• Works on Paper , Hogarth Gallery, NSW.
• Ikuntji: New Art from the Western Desert , (book launch) Framed Gallery, NT.
• Paintings from Haasts Bluff , Hogarth Gallery, NSW.
• Mitjili Napurrula and Marlee Napurrula , Flinders Lane Gallery, Vic.
• Yiribana , Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW.
• 1994 Heritage Art Award , ACT.
• Australian High Commission & Shangri-la Hotel, Singapore.
• Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne

Collections

• Art Gallery of New South Wales
• Artbank
• Baillieu Myer, de Young Museum, San Fransisco, USA.
• Flinders University, SA.
• Campbelltown Regional Gallery, NSW.
• Latrobe University, Vic.
• Mornington Peninsula Gallery, Vic.
• Art Gallery of South Australia, SA.
• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, NT.
• National Gallery of Victoria, Vic.
• National Gallery of Australia, ACT
• Art Gallery of Western Australia, WA.
• Private collections, Australia & overseas.
• 1999 The Alice Prize, Alice Springs Art Foundation, Northern Territory.

Publications

• Isaacs, J Spirit Country: Contemporary Australian Aboriginal Art , 1999, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, USA.
• Art Almanac , (cover), December 1999/ January 2000.
• Neale, M Yiribana: an introduction to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection of the AGNSW , ex.cat, 1995, Art Gallery of New South Wales, NSW.
• Strocchi,M Ikuntji: Paintings from Haasts Bluff 1992-94 , 1995, IAD Press, Alice Springs, NT.

Source:

Janusz, B. Krecsmanski & Birnberg, M. (2004) Australian Aboriginal Artists – dictionary of biographies. JB Publishing, Australia.