Nora Wompi was a Manyjilyjarra and Kukatja woman born near Kunawarritji, a site associated with the Minyipuru Jukurrpa (Seven Sisters Dreaming). She began painting in the late 1980s at Warlayirti Artists in Balgo alongside her lifelong friend and mentor Eubena Nampitjin. Her distinctive style of wet-on-wet brushwork, vivid colour, and a rhythmic encapsulation of landscape developed across decades, resulting in her unique and recognisable aesthetic.

In ‘Kunawarritji,’ Wompi paints Muyultjulpa, a rock hole in her traditional Country, where women gather bush raisins using digging sticks. The painting is a striking example of Wompi’s mature painting practice. Layered in sweeping bands of ochre, cream, and violet, the work conjures rocky outcrops and shifting sandhills; the interplay of earthy reds, soft whites, and luminous purples suggest the constant flux between desert terrain and sky. Her rhythmic brushwork, both intuitive and symbolic, imbues cartographic elements into ceremonial action and ancestral presence. ‘Kunawarritji’ is a testament to movement, memory and ancestral knowledge, conveyed through Wompi’s bold use of colour and confident gesture.

Wompi’s work has been exhibited widely in Australia and overseas, and featured in landmark cultural exhibitions such as the ‘Yiwarra Kuju: Canning Stock Route’ project at the National Museum of Australia. In 2013 she was a finalist in the Western Australian Indigenous Art Awards at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. Her paintings are held in major national collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria. For collectors of Aboriginal art,‘Kunawarritji’ is an exciting acquisition of expressive power and cultural depth, from a revered painter of desert country.

Nora WOMPI
'Untitled (Kunawarritji)' 2007
acrylic on canvas
Image Size: 120 x 80 cm
Dimensions: 120 x 80 cm
Signed: Signed 'Nora Wompi'

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Condition:Very Good

(c) The Artist or Assignee