Pauline Napangardi

Pauline Napangardi Gallagher was a Warlpiri artist, born in 1952 in Yuendumu, Northern Territory. Her ancestral country was Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs), a sacred waterhole near Mount Doreen Station west of Yuendumu.

She painted with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation, an Aboriginal-owned and governed art centre in Yuendumu, and began painting in 2006. Pauline depicted her father’s Jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories — Pikilyi Jukurrpa (Pikilyi Dreaming) and Mina Mina Jukurrpa (Mina Mina Dreaming) — which related directly to her land, its features, animals, and ancestral knowledge passed down through generations.

Pauline lived in Nyirripi with her family, including her five children and grandchildren, and was known for using bold colours and an unrestricted palette to create contemporary interpretations of her traditional culture.