Stephanie Naprurrula Nelson
About Stephanie
Stephanie was born in 1984 in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She grew up in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community 290km from Alice Springs. She attended the local school then studied at Yirrara College, an Aboriginal boarding college in Alice Springs. Stephanie's auntie is Bessie Nakamarra Sims (deceased), who was one of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal owned and governed art centre in the community of Yuendumu.
Stephanie has painted at the art centre since 2000, under the guidance of Bessie, from whom she has been handed the dreaming stories she paints.
These stories have been passed down in this way over many generations. Stephanie's dreamings include; janganpa (possum), yarla (bush potato), karnta (women), marlu (kangaroo), and, pamabaru (flying ant). They come from Waputali, the country of which her family are custodians, and relate directly to this land, its features, and animals.
Stephanie is married with a son who was born in 2003. She likes playing basketball and going hunting with her family.
About the artwork
Stephanie's paintings are rich in traditional motifs, often including concentric circles which represent 'mulju', or water soakages, and long curved or straight lines to represent floodwaters.
This dreaming depicts the kangaroo, represented by the arrow-like symbols, jumping around several traditional meeting places and waterholes. Around these meeting places, represented by the circles, are two people with hunting and gathering tools by their side. They are discussing bush tucker (food) and the best ways to hunt for the kangaroo.
