Nellie Marks Nakamarra / Women’s Ceremony

Nellie is the younger sister of Elizabeth Marks Nakamarra and grew up as stepdaughter to Papunya Tula painter Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula. At Kintore she was mentored by Turkey Tolson, Old Mick Namarari Tjapaltjarri and Uta Uta Tjangala, some of the founding figures of the desert art movement.

Her most recognised subject is Kalipinypa, a rain and lightning site near Kintore with a deep rockhole that holds water through dry times. She also paints Women's Ceremony, Women's Tingari and rocky Country, using concentric circles, U shapes and pathways to form an aerial view of the land. Bright pinks, turquoise, oranges and purples set against dark grounds give her work its contemporary energy, and she has exhibited in Australia and in Washington DC.