Artist: Lorna Fencer Napurrula
Born: c 1920
Skin Name: Napurrula
Language: Warlpiri/Ngaliya
Region: Katherine
Dreaming: Yarla (Yam) Wapirti Marlujarra Ngalatji (little white flower) Bush Tomato Caterpillar Wallaby and certain men's stories


A custodian for the sacred country of Yumurrupar, situated near Chilla Well in the Northern Territory Lorna Fencer Napurrula was born around 1924. Strongly involved in tribal matters including teaching and ceremonies, she has maintained cultural links, while becoming a major contemporary artist. In the 1980s body painting design was the basis for the painted coolamons and digging stick she made for sale and ceremony. These designs underpin Fencer’s paintings, which have become increasingly colourful and free and notable for their loose, gestural brush strokes and strikingly vibrant colours such as hot pinks, blues, yellows and greens. She started painting in 1986 at the Warlpiri community of Lajamu- her works showing the use of colour notable in the work of many Warlpiri painters. She held her first exhibition a year later in Melbourne. Panelist Robert Nelson describes her as ‘’one of the most visually intuitive of the senior indigenous painters’’.

Her subjects are based on luju ( caterpillar), yarla (bush potato) and bush tucker dreamings, as well as those associated with her skin group (Napurrula-Tjupurrula and the related Nakamarra-Tjakamarra), seed, bush tomato and plum dreamings. Her awards include the Gold Coast’s Conrad Jupiter’s Art Prize, 1997 and the National Gallery of Victoria’s John McCaughey Art Prize, 1997.

She has had numerous solo exhibitions 1987-2006 including in Melbourne (Alcaston.1998; Vivien Anderson, 2002,04), Darwin ( Karen Brown, 1998), Sydney (Cooee) and Perth (Japingka, from 2002). Her work was seen in a number of group exhibitions between 1987-2006 including Paint Up Big: Warlipiri Women’s Art, NGV 1991; The John McCaughey Memorial Art Award, NGV, 1998; Spirit Country, San Francisco and touring, 1999-2001; Icons of Aboriginal Art, Singapore, 2002; Colour Power, NGV, 2005.