Bambatu Napangardi
Women’s Tingari
91cm x 61cm
BNAP201402
Born in Winron, Western Australia in the 1940’s, Bambatu Napangardi Campbell grew up living a traditional lifestyle on the land in this area with her family. Winron is located to the east of Kirrurkurra, near the W.A and N.T border. The important dreaming stories were passed onto her by her mother and father during these years, and Bambatu has passed these stories on to her children. She met her husband, Dinni Campbell Tjampitjinpa during a visit to see family in Balgo. They were married at Balgo and had six children together. Dinni was one of the original painters for Papunya Tula during the early years of the Aboriginal Art Movement. Bambatu was an apprentice to Dinni and she would assist in the painting of his stories for many years before creating her own artworks using the styles and techniques taught to her by her very famous husband. These early works really were reminiscent of the art that came out of the area in the 1970’s and 80’s. She depicts the sacred women’s sites where many important ceremonies are held by painting the rockhole’s and ceremony sites, and surrounding these with the lines that depict the Sandhills of this area and travel lines used to access these areas. This knowledge has been passed on to Bambatu’s children, who also paint these stories. Bambatu’s two daughters, Teresa and Christine, have grown up watching their mother and father paint, and it is little wonder that their works are just as magnificent as Bambatu’s artworks.
