Biography

Simone Nampijinpa Brown was born in Nyirripi, a remote Aboriginal community, approximately 440 km north-west of Alice Springs. Simone is the grand-daughter of Jeanie Napangardi Lewis, an artist who regularly paints with Warlukurlangu Artists. Simone’s interest in painting comes from her grandmother and from watching her grandmother’s husband, Mickey Jampijinpa Singleton, paint. Mickey is also a well-known artist who paints for Warlukurlangu Artists. When Simone attended the local school in Nyirripi she already showed an interest in painting her Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings which are handed down through her family and which relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. These stories have been passed down through generations for millennia. From her grand-mother she paints Karnta Jukurrpa (Women’s Dreaming), dreamings about Mina Mina, country sacred to Napangardi and Napanangka women. Simone began painting for Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu in 2012. Warlukurlangu Art Centre provides an outlet for Warlpiri artists to paint their cultural heritage and earn income from their work. This service is extended to Nyirripi artists, on a weekly basis, by delivering canvas and paint to artists and picking up finished artwork in Nyirripi.

When Simone is not painting with her grand-mother she likes to play sport, particularly softball, listen to music and hunt with her family for kangaroo.