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Louise Numina Napanankana


Area: Tennant Creek/Alice Springs

Language: Anmatyerre

Louise Numina Napanankana was born in 1976 and grew up on Stirling Station a cattle station near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia.

She received her early education there and her secondary education at Yirrara College in Alice Springs.

On completion of her education she returned to Stirling Station where she worked as a Community Development Officer.

Louises' aunts are noted artists Gloria and Kathleen Petyerre and Louise Numina Napanankana was taught to paint by them.

They share the same dreamings and Louise paints in a similar style.

She continues to visit her Aunts who still live in Central Australia to further develop her talent and study art technique with them.

Louise moved to Darwin in 1995 where she studied at Nungalinya College and has also received a Diploma of Fine Arts from the Northern Territory University



Louise totems are the Honey Ant and the Emu.

Her paintings depict bush berries, bush medicine leaves, lizards (thorny devil) womens ceremony, body painting and she also decorates didjeridoos.

In Australia the Bush is any area outside of the city and the word Bush is used to describe any activity or lifestyle away from the city life.

Bush Tucker describes the food collected by Aboriginal Women who use skills handed down for generations to find food in the desert.

Bush Medicine Leaves: the leaves of plants are collected and used for medicinal purposes they can be placed over a fire and the smoke inhaled, infused in hot water and drank, and made into a paste with fruit pulp or animal fat and rubbed on the body.

Louises bright bush medicine leaf paintings depict the different combinations of leaves used.

Women’s Ceremony, Awelye, Body Art: women’s business and body painting shows respect for country, recalls ancestors and responsibility for well being of the community.

The ceremonies are not done in the presence of men.

The women paint their ceremony stories on their bodies using ochre, ash and charcoal. Louise uses traditional colors in her body painting series

The Thorny Devil is a small lizard that lives in the desert it is covered with spines to protect itself it also changes color to pale brown and tan when warm and darker colors when cool.

Louises Thorny Devil paintings are done in a variety of tones and colors.

Louise Numina Napanankana also shares her families gift for painting with her sisters all of whom are known Aboriginal Artists.