Biography

Leanne Nungarrayi Jurrah was born in Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Nyirripi, originally an outstation of Yuendumu but now a small community, 440 km west from Alice Springs in Northern Territory. She is the granddaughter of Nancy Napananga Gibson, a well-known artist, who paints with Warlukurlangu Art Centre. Leanne attended Yirara College an Aboriginal boarding college in Alice Springs. When she finished school, she worked for the Nyirripi Shire Office.

Leanne has been painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu, since 2014. She paints her Grandmother’s Yankirri Jukurrpa (Emu Dreaming) and Yankirri Ngipiri Jukurrpa (Emu Egg Dreaming), stories which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. She learnt to paint first at school and then by watching her family paint. She loves colour and uses an unrestricted palette to represent her country.

When Leanne is not painting, she likes to go hunting for bush food with her husband and son and extended family.