Wendy Napaljarri Kitson

Wendy Napaljarri Kitson

Artworks

Biography

Wendy Napaljarri Kitson was born in Willowra, a small remote Aboriginal community located 220 km north-west of Alice Springs and 200 km north-east of Yuendumu. Her grandmother is Dora Napaljarri Kitson, an established artist, who brought Wendy up in Willowra. Wendy attended the local school and when she finished school she did odd jobs in the community. It wasn’t until later, after her family had moved to Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290 km north west of Alice Springs that she met her partner. As well as living in Yuendumu she has lived in Tennant Creek where she often paints and sells her artwork.                                          

She began painting with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre, in 2011. She paints her father’s Ngatijirri Jukurrpa, (Budgerigar Dreaming), stories that have been passed down to her from her father and his father’s father for millennia. She uses traditional shapes and an unrestricted palette to develop a modern interpretation of her traditional culture.

When Wendy is not painting, she likes to go out hunting with family (she has six kids) and friends to hunt for goanna and bush food. She also enjoys cooking at home.