Michelle Possum Nungurrayi
Size: 190 x 92 cmMedium: Acrylic on CanvasCommission Work: Available
Michelle was born in 1970 in remote Mount Allan, northwest of Alice Springs. She and her siblings were taught to paint at a young age by their father, the renowned Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Michelle began painting in the mid-eighties and continues to carry her father’s distinctive style in her work, combined with her own bolder colour palette and a focus on women’s ceremonies and stories.
Her paintings often depict aerial views of the country where she grew up, incorporating the iconography of the sites she knows intimately. She also paints a wide range of stories, including bush tucker, seed dreamings, fire dreamings, worm dreamings, goanna dreamings, and her grandmother’s country—many of which are woven together within her compositions.
Michelle’s work resonates strongly with audiences, particularly once the visual symbols and their meanings are understood. Her paintings include representations of plants, food sources, waterholes, and people within the landscape—men with hunting tools and women with digging sticks and coolamons.
Michelle currently lives and works in Melbourne, where she often paints alongside her sister, Gabriella.
The Star Dreaming story of the Seven Sisters is one of the most widely shared and ancient stories among Aboriginal Australians. Its songline spans more than half the continent, from the Central Desert to the West Coast, crossing many language groups. Different regions hold distinct parts of the narrative.
In this story, the group of stars represents the Napaljarri sisters. In the Warlpiri version of this Jukurrpa, the sisters are depicted carrying the Jampijinpa man Wardilyka, who is in love with one of them. The morning star, Jukurra-jukurra—a Jakamarra man who also desires the sisters—chases them across the night sky. The sisters flee, as both men are forbidden under traditional law to take a Napaljarri wife due to incorrect skin group relationships.
