Colleen Kantawarra Nakamarra

Colleen’s childhood in Papunya and later Haast’s Bluff was filled with days of hunting for bush tucker, a motif which is now richly represented in her works. Seeking out honey ants, bush bananas, bush tomatoes, bush onions, and bush berries as a child now informs the colors and shapes of Colleen Nakamara Kantawarra’s abstracted realism paintings, which suggest to the viewer a land of milk and honey, rather than the spinifex desert of our coastal understanding. Working also with traditional designs, Colleen again demonstrates the importance of bush tucker dreamings, or the many bush tucker tjukurrpas, which map the diverse varieties of edible plants and animals found in her country. Interpereting her stories, Colleen’s palette is rich and energised, often surprising, contemporary and deeply honest. Growing up in a family of painters, Collen was introduced to canvas and brush at an early age, and her dedication to her art is clearly visible in her works. One of the Ikuntji Artists’ Studios emerging artists Colleen Nakamara Kantawarra brings a fresh perspective to a deeply traditional artform.
Source: Ikuntji Artists