Jacinta Numina

Jacinta Numina Napanangka Paintings

Quick Facts

  • Date of Birth: Late 1960’s

  • Place of Birth: Stirling Station, near Tennant Creek, Central Australia

  • Language Group: Anmatyerre

  • Region: Utopia, Central Desert, Northern Territory

  • Style of Art: Central Desert dot painting depicting Bush Medicine Leaves, Thorny Lizard Dreaming, and Women's Ceremony

  • Notable Family: Daughter of Barbara Pananka Price and the late Douglas Petyarre; niece of renowned artists Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre; great-niece of Emily Kngwarreye and Kudditji Kngwarreye

Jacinta Numina Napanangka, also known as Jacinta Numina Waugh, is an Anmatyerre artist from the Utopia region of Central Australia, whose bold and colourful paintings carry forward a family legacy connected to some of the most celebrated names in Australian Aboriginal art. Alongside her painting career, Jacinta spent several years working as a professional printmaker, giving her a technical grounding few of her contemporaries share.

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Family and Artistic Beginnings

Jacinta was born at Stirling Station in the late 1960’s and grew up there before attending Kormilda College in Darwin for high school, following in the footsteps of most of her siblings. She is one of the eldest of the Numina sisters, six daughters of Barbara Pananka Price and the late Douglas Petyarre, alongside two brothers. Her father's sisters were Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre, two of the most internationally recognised artists to emerge from the Utopia art movement, making Jacinta and her siblings nieces to two genuine icons of the Aboriginal art world. The family's lineage runs deeper still: the Numina sisters are also great-nieces of Emily Kngwarreye and Kudditji Kngwarreye, placing Jacinta within one of the most significant artistic families associated with the Utopia region.

Jacinta Numina Napanangka Paintings

Learning to Paint

Jacinta began painting in the early 1980s at Stirling Station, alongside a group of senior women from the Utopia region who were among the first to bring their cultural knowledge onto canvas. She learned directly from her aunts: Gloria Petyarre taught her the Bush Medicine Leaf ceremony, while Kathleen Petyarre passed on the Thorny Lizard Dreaming, two of the themes that continue to define Jacinta's work today.

Themes and Style

Jacinta's paintings draw on her deep knowledge of Anmatyerre women's law and her connection to Country around Stirling Station. Her recurring subjects include Bush Medicine Leaves, drawn from a native plant used to treat wounds, flu, and other ailments; Thorny Lizard Dreaming; and imagery associated with Women's Ceremony and Awelye body paint designs. Her work is known for its bold, confident use of colour and movement, qualities that have made her paintings popular with collectors across Australia and internationally.

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Career and Training

In 1996, Jacinta moved to Darwin to formally study art at Charles Darwin University, completing an Associate Degree in Art and Design in 2003. The following year, she completed a traineeship in printmaking and was appointed a full-time printmaker at Northern Editions, the longest-established publisher of limited-edition prints in Northern Australia, where she worked until 2008. Alongside canvas painting, Jacinta has also painted traditional artefacts, including shields, coolamons, and didgeridoos.

Jacinta Numina Napanangka Paintings

Legacy

As a member of the Numina sisters and part of a family stretching from Barbara Pananka Price through to some of the most celebrated names in Australian Aboriginal art, Jacinta carries forward a rich inheritance of Anmatyerre law and storytelling. Her work is held in the collections of universities, private collectors, and art lovers around the world, and she continues to travel back to her homeland to stay connected with family and Country.

Explore Original Works by Jacinta Numina Napanangka

Explore available paintings by Jacinta Numina Napanangka and other artists of the Utopia region. Visit Mandel Aboriginal Art Gallery or contact us to enquire about a piece for your home or collection.

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