Lorna Fencer Napurrula

 

Lorna Fencer Napurrula was born in the 1920s in the Tanami Desert in Central Australia and was the custodian of inherited land, Yumurrpa, situated near Chila Well, south of Granites Mine Area of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory. 

In 1949 many Warlpiri people, including Lorna Napurrula, were forcibly transported to the government settlement of Lajamanu. Nevertheless Lorna maintained and strengthened her cultural identity through ceremonial activity and art and was among one of the first to take up acrylic painting at the Lajamanu School in 1986. She asserted her position as a prominent elder and teacher in the community.

Lorna's works are known for their abstract and bold designs that feature strong and vivid colours. The combination of her unrivalled knowledge of tribal law and dreamings, along with her intuitive use of colour and free gestural brush strokes in telling her stories. 

Sadly, Lorna passed away in 2006.

In 2007 she was named as one of Australia’s 50 most collectable artists by the Australian Art Collector Magazine.

'SENIOR ARTISTS OF THE WESTERN DESERT' (JUNE 2024)
'MOTHER, COUNTRY, TJUKURRPA' EXHIBITION (FEB - MARCH 2022)

Register an interest here