Maria Nampijinpa Brown

Maria Nampijinpa Brown was born in 1973 and has grown up surrounded by great painters in the remote community of Yuendumu, roughly 350kms north east of Alice Springs. She is the daughter of Wendy Nungarrayi Brown and grand-daughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims and Bessie Nakamarra Sims, founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation. When Maria was little she would watch her mother and her grandparents paint and listen to their stories.
Maria has been painting with the Warlukurlangu Artists since 1995. She uses traditional iconography, while developing a modern individualistic style to depict her traditional Jukurrpa. In particular, her depiction of Pamapardu Jukurrpa (Flying Ant Dreaming) from Wapurtali, west of Yuendumu is an exciting development. Her spiraling dot work often represents the 'Pamapardu' (flying ants) and evokes the energy of the ants around the 'mingkirri' (earth mounds).
When Maria is not painting she likes to tell stories to her grandchildren, hunt for honey ants when it is raining, and collect firewood for cooking kangaroo tails.