Jillian Giles Napananka

Jillian Giles Napanangka

Jillian Giles Napanangka is an Aboriginal Australian artist, well-known for her modern tracing of Pintupi art and dream paintings. Napanangka, born in the late 1960s, near the Kintore (Walungurru) in the Western Desert of the Northern Territory, has become a significant countenance in the continuation and adaptation of aboriginal art forms.

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Early Life and Cultural Heritage

Napanangka spent most of her childhood living a partially nomadic life in the Western Desert, frequently travelling from one site to another due to the social and ceremonial activities of the Pintupi people. The name “Napanangka” reflects her skin status in the complex Pintupi social structure, which maps out hierarchies of social relationships, marriage, and ceremonial responsibilities.

Jillian Giles Napananka 900 x 1500mm

As a child, she was completely steeped in the old ways and went on daily foraging parties with the women folk to collect wild food and narrate mythological songs and chants. These experiences shaped her later work as an artist and paved the way for her to develop a foundation in bush medicine, the meaning of traditional food, and the relationship of the First Nations people with the land.

The Pintupi tribe was one of the last ones to come into contact with the European settlers with some of the family groups remaining in the desert living their traditional way of life until the 1960s. This rather late interaction has remained pivotal to the retention of many of their social and artistic expressions. Among the Pintupi some knowledge is specified by gender and, therefore, having decided in a woman’s capacity, Napanangka received the right to know about the female ritual sites, bush products and useful plants as well as the female sites.

Jillian Giles 1320 mm x 1500 mm

Artistic Development

It was in the early 1990s when Napanangka started painting at the Papunya Tula Artists, a major player in the contemporary Aboriginal art movement. In her early work, she took reference from sand drawings used in ceremonial contexts, body painting designs for women ceremonial and rock art imagery from special sites.

Jillian Giles 900 mm x 1500 mm

Her painting style reflects a mix of traditional and modern innovations. She continues to use iconography relating to water sources and ceremonial areas, producing fine dotting in a softer value range. Nevertheless, over time, she has garnered a style of her own and explored the scale and composition of her work, combining modern acrylic mediums with conventional art forms.

Major Themes in Her Work

Napanangka’s paintings are particularly with roots expressing herself in the country; water sources, hunting lands, and sacred women’s sites. She often portrays women's ceremonies, the designs on the ceremonial body paint as well as the knowledge and information passed down. Through her paintings she lends voice to traditional stories and ceremonies, painting pictures of where some of these significant sites are and what they mean.

Jillian Giles Napananka 890 x 950mm

Exhibitions and Recognition

Napanangka’s notable exhibitions include:

  • "Desert Stories" - National Gallery of Victoria (2002)
  • "Women's Business" - Art Gallery of New South Wales (2005)
  • "Living Water" - Indigenous Art Centre Alliance (2008)
  • "Desert Dreams" - Aboriginal Contemporary (2012)
  • "Country and Culture" - Japingka Gallery (2015)

Her artworks have been collected privately in Australia and overseas, and are displayed in regional galleries across Northern Territory.

Jillian Giles 900 mm x 940 mm

Legacy and Impact

Jillian Giles Napanangka is one of the leading contemporary Aboriginal artists who insists on the continuity of traditional Pintupi culture in the sphere of contemporary art. Her work not only records ancient knowledge and Indigenous practices but also shows how Indigenous art can be reinvented all the while still being steeped in cultural meaning. In her paintings, her teaching, and her community activism, she has become an ongoing force for good for aboriginal art and culture by preparing the way for the next generations to carry on the traditions of their people.

Apart from artistic production, Napanangka is involved in Cultural Education programs and has been involved in passing down artistic skills to the young generation. She remains to be involved with ceremonial life in addition to holding leadership posts in various community activities, in a bid to ensure that elders’ knowledge is passed on to the next generations.

In her work, and particularly with her paintings, Napanangka campaigned for the preservation of culture by respecting cultural sites, conserving the environment and asserting Indigenous ownership of the land. It makes her work a valuable example of how indigenous cultural knowledge has to be upheld in reaction to modern realities.

Jillian Giles Napananka 900 x 1500mm

Though she has not revealed many aspects of her culture, Napanangka is a custodian devoted to Aboriginal law and her traditions. She masters how to interconnect the past and the present, how to concentrate on nurturing young people, and at the same time, she stays a keeper of traditions.

Explore Napanangka’s Canvas with Mandel Art Gallery

Experience the depth of Indigenous contemporary art by Jillian Giles Napanangka at the Mandel of Aboriginal Art. Have a glimpse of the culture that inspired her and the modernity that characterises her work. Contact us by visiting our website or call us at 03 9497 5111 to explore her oeuvre of masterpieces.