Paddy Japanangka Lewis

Paddy Lewis Japanangka (circa 1928-2011)

Region: Mina Mina
Language: Warlpiri

Paddy Lewis Japanangka was a senior lawman of the Warlpiri tribe and the custodian of Mina Mina Lakes, located over 400 km northwest of Alice Springs and west of Mt Doreen and Yuendumu in the Northern Territory. Born circa 1925 in the bush around Yuendumu/Nyirripi, Paddy lived a nomadic life as a hunter-gatherer. His extended Warlpiri family traveled vast distances across desert country, teaching him the traditional ways of his land.

Paddy is the father of highly acclaimed artists Dorothy Napangardi Robertson and Margaret Lewis Napangardi, both of whom have painted stories associated with the Mina Mina region. Like many Indigenous Elders, Paddy experienced sight restrictions for many years. After a successful government-sponsored operation around 2006, he began his most important body of work. In 2008, Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery (now Harvey Galleries) in Sydney curated his first solo show, which featured many of his lifetime's most significant works. This exhibition was significant enough to inspire an academic paper by highly acclaimed author Susan McCulloch.

Paddy's paintings often depicted the Jukurrpa (Dreaming) of Mina Mina, a place significant to Napangardi/Napanangka women and Japangardi/Japanangka men. The Jukurrpa story narrates the journey of a group of women who traveled east from Mina Mina, gathering food, collecting ‘ngalyipi’ (snake vine), and performing ceremonies. The women’s journey extended far beyond Warlpiri country, creating various sites along the way. ‘Ngalyipi’ is a sacred vine with multiple uses, including ceremonial wraps, carrying straps for wooden bowls laden with bush tucker, and tourniquets for headaches.

Paddy was a multi-talented individual and also performed in the 1999 short feature film Marluku Wirlinyi: The Kangaroo Hunters, a tale set in both the Dreamtime and the present day. He painted with the Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation in Yuendumu from 1999 until his death in 2011, focusing on his Mina Mina Jukurrpa.

Exhibitions:

• 2008: Trevor Victor Harvey Gallery, Sydney, Australia

Group Exhibitions:

• 2010: Pro Community – ARTKELCH – contemporary Aboriginal art, Freiburg
• 2010: Hunter Dreams Of – African Muse Gallery, Paris

Paddy Japanangka Lewis's legacy continues through his artworks, his contributions to the cultural heritage of the Warlpiri people, and the artistic achievements of his daughters.