Source Gallery: Yanda Aboriginal Art, Alice Springs, NT
Tjawina Porter Nampitjinpa (Mrs Porter) was born at Yumara, North of the Docker River in Western Australia around 1950 and is a half sister to the late Nyurapayia Nampitjinpa (Mrs Bennett), one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous artists and full sister to senior artist Esther Giles Nampitjinpa. Her language group is Ngaatjatjarra and Pintupi/Luritja.
Mrs Porter grew up ‘in the bush’ with her family. After her younger brother died, her family decided to move to the then newly established government settlement of Papunya. Mrs Porter is a widow and now lives with her sister Esther Giles Nampitjinpa. Both ladies paint for the highly prestigious Yanda Aboriginal Art (as did Mrs Bennett until her passing), along with a group of Australia’s most Senior Pintupi Aboriginal Artists including Naata Nungurrayi, Tommy Watson and George Tjungurrayi.
Initially known for her skill as a traditional basket weaver, Mrs Porter has developed into a prominent painter. Her works are rich in ethnographic iconography and tell the stories that were passed down by her mother and her father. The sites of Yumari, Punkilpirri, Tjukurla and Tjalili are often portrayed, using a thickly layered style of predominantly white, cream, brown and oranges.
Mrs Porter’s work is represented in private and corporate collections in Australia and around the world.
