Louise Numina Napanangka

Louise Numina Napanangka is one of six highly-talented and well-known desert artists known in the Aboriginal Art world as the Numina Sisters. Rapidly emerging as the next artistic dynasty in the contemporary aboriginal art world they are known for their bright and innovative works. Born on Stirling Station in the Utopia region in the Eastern Central Desert of the Northern Territory in Central Australia (north-west of Alice Springs), she has two brothers, her dear father is passed away and her widow mum still paints from time to time.

Louise went to primary school on Stirling Station near Tennant Creek, later studying at Yirara College in Alice Springs and achieved a diploma in Fine Art from the Northern Territory University. Now based in Darwin, along with two of her artist sisters Jacinta & Lanita, Selina & Louise travels back to her homelands regularly.

Like her sisters and mother, Barbara Price Mtjimbana, Louise comes from a long line of desert painters of the contemporary Aboriginal art and dot-dot central desert movement. Louise started painting at a very young age, being taught by her aunties Gloria and Kathleen Petyarre, both highly-respected Aboriginal artists. The Numina Sisters have all been taught to paint by their earlier elder painter grandmothers, mother-auntys, and cousin-sisters connected across the Central Desert region. Their mother's and grandmother's Country is in the bush and remote Stirling Station.

Many women from the Peytre, Mambitji and Numina family name hold custody of the story and knowledge keepers of painting series-themes such as Bush Medicine Leaves, Bush Tucker, Seeded, Soakage, Womens' Ceremony etc - in common with other skin groups across the vast arid creek beds and red sand of central Australia.

Louise’s paintings reflect the traditional knowledge so important to her desert heritage - Bush Medicine Leaves (from an Australian native plant that grows wild in Central Australia), Thorny Devil or Mountain Lizard Dreaming, Bush Tucker (particularly Bush Yam Dreaming and Bush Melon), Womens' Ceremony, and Awelyere Body Art Ceremony. Her totems are the Honey Ant and the Emu.

The Bush Medicine Leaves Dreaming knowledge story is a popular theme of the Numina Sisters. By painting about "Bush Medicine", Louise is paying homage to the spirit of the medicine plant in the hope that it will regenerate, enabling the people to continue to benefit from its healing properties. The 30 species of the Kurrajong tree (Brachychiton) ranging from 4 to 30 metres in height, are believed to date back for up to 50 million years.

Women go to different places around Utopia to collect leaves from the Bush Medicine plants. Back at the camp the leaves are boiled to extract resin and Kangaroo fat is mixed in, creating a paste that can be stored for a long time in bush conditions. The medicinal paste is then applied to the skin to heal a multitude of afflictions such as bites, wounds, skin infections, rashes, skin cancer and the like.  The leaves are also steeped in hot water to make an infusion, or healing tea. In some species, their thick trunks can be a source of stored water.

Other subjects of equal importance in the theme-series painted are various bush tucker. Plant foods include wild berries, plums, onion, yam, seeds etc. In the Bush Tucker series, Yam Seed and Yam Flower show the ceremonial links of the Anmatyerre people to the Yam in the desert. They celebrate the importance of this native food as a source of sustenance and recognise its ritual importance in women’s ceremonies associated with Yam Dreaming - its propagation to promote abundance, and the traditional obligations to equally share access to food. The colours are chosen from the different seasons of the year and often show yellows, oranges, reds and greens along with other vivid and contrasting colours. The women gather bush melons to be eaten or dried and stored for consumption when bush tucker is scarce.

Many animals can be depicted as food source or as totems such as Thorny Devil LIzard and Dingo Tracks. Womens' Ceremony, Awelye Body Art Ceremony are mostly painted by senior ladies but younger women need to know it from a young age. These can be secret and/or significant cultural ceremonies. Louise’s paintings of the Thorny Devil or Mountain Devil lizard depict the ability of this remarkable lizard to camouflage itself and blend into its surroundings, making the job of predators very difficult. It will change colour depending on the colour of soil it is crossing and the air temperature, turning pale colours when warm and darker when cold.Knowing, carrying and reinforcing these stories gives respect for Country and ancestors and shows responsibility and care of holding such stories to keep the stories and traditional practices alive.  The knowledge must be retold repeatedly and handed on.

Louise's work has been exhibited in Darwin, Sydney and regional art galleries including the Ballarat Regional Gallery (Victoria) and is bought and sold around the world by art lovers, institutions, private collectors and art dealers