Molly Jugadai Napaltjarri / Napaltjarri Sisters (1A)

Maluya Jugadai (Molly) is the eldest daughter of artists Narputta Nangala and Timmy Jugadai Tjungurrayi. She played a key part in the establishment of Ikuntji Art Centre in 1992.

Molly was born under a Ngalta tree 3km’s west of the existing Haasts Bluff community in the Northern Territory in c. 1954, shortly after the establishment of the mission. Molly passed away peacefully in 2011.

Molly primarily painted landscape depictions of her country however she was best known for her dreaming story “The Napaltjarri Sisters”. The Napaltjarri Sisters descended from the seven sisters constellation in the sky, at evening time. As they fell, dew collected on the grass and made the flowers and bush tucker grow. The sisters roam the earth collecting bush tucker, goanna and bush turkey and vegetables.

Molly participated in many group exhibitions up until her passing and in 2004 had a successful solo exhibition at Sydney’s Hogarth Gallery in Sydney. An artwork painted by Molly was featured on the cover of the 2005 Monograph ‘Peopling’ The Cleland Hills: Aboriginal History In Western Central Australia, 1850–1980.

The Napaltjarri Sisters descended from the seven sisters constellation in the sky, at evening time. As they fell, dew collected on the grass and made the flowers and bush tucker grow. The sisters roam the earth collecting bush tucker, goanna and bush turkey and vegetables.