Eunice Napanangka Jack
Biography
Eunice Napanangka Jack, a senior Ngaanyatjarra artist, was born in 1940 at Lupul near Tjukurla in Western Australia, near the border with the Northern Territory. During a period of severe drought in the Central Desert, her family walked across the desert to the east, where ration stations had been set up. They settled in Haasts Bluff, where Eunice grew up.
Her father, Tutuma Tjapangarti, was an early artist in the Men’s group at Papunya, and Eunice assisted her husband, Gideon Tjupurrula Jack, with his paintings for Papunya Tula during the 1970s. Eunice began creating her own paintings in 1992 with the opening of the Ikuntji Women’s Centre, where many women started their artistic careers.
Eunice’s mother was from the Warlpiri country east of Lake MacKay at Winparrku, and many of the stories Eunice paints come from her mother’s side. These include interpretations of the desert sandhills and bush flowers and plants that were part of the native food resources of the land. Eunice also paints stories from her father's side, including Lupul, Tjukurla, Kurulto, and Tjila.
Eunice describes her early life as follows: “I was born at Kuruyultu, near the rockhole there… We left that place, Kuruyultu. My father, my mother, my big sister and my father’s brother, we all left together and went to Haasts Bluff. I grew up in Haasts Bluff. I have been back to Kuruyultu for visits but I never lived there again in my country. I think about it every day.”
Eunice continues to record the Tjukurrpa, the Country, and the memories of her traditional lands. Her artworks are held in major collections in Australia and internationally. Eunice remains an important figure in her community, sharing cultural knowledge and traditional bush skills, as well as her painting and storytelling.
Artistic Themes
- Hairstring of My Father's Country
- Mungada (Bush Tucker)
Eunice's intricate and complex works feature many fine lines of dot work depicting the endless kilometres of sandhills in her country. Each line cradles the one before it to create rich patterns and motifs of place and cultural significance across her canvas. Her colour palette is unfettered and wildly exuberant, with pink, green, yellow, and every imaginable shade of mauve jostling for position among blues and oranges.
Collections
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
- Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin
- Flinders University, Adelaide
- Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, Darwin
- Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Art Collection, Canberra, ACT
- Bailleau Myer, de Young Museum, San Francisco, USA
- Thomas Vroom-Sammlung, Amsterdam, NL
- Ganter Myer Collection, Fine Arts Museum, San Francisco, USA
- Campbelltown Regional Gallery, Campbelltown, NSW
- University of Tasmania, Hobart
- Moreton Bay Region Art Collection, Caboolture, QLD
- Gabrielle Pizzi Collection, Melbourne
Exhibitions
Eunice Napanangka Jack has been exhibiting throughout Australia and internationally since 1993. She has participated in many prestigious exhibitions, including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in the Northern Territory. Her work is included in many private and public collections of note, showcasing her talent and dedication to her profession and traditions
