Linda Syddick Napaltjarri

Kangaroo Man  | 35h x 35w  |  RK198

Stretched - no frame  |  Acrylic on canvas

Linda Syddick Napaltjarri (c.1937-2021) was a Pintupi woman from the Gibson Desert in Western Australia. Her Aboriginal name is Tjunkiya Wukula Napaltjarri, she was the daughter of Wanala Nangala and Rintja Tjungurrayi. Linda lived a traditional nomadic life with her people until the age of about eight, at this time her family walked out of the desert and decided to settle at the Lutheran Mission at Haasts Bluff, in the Northern Territory.

Linda's paintings were inspired by both her traditional nomadic life in the desert, and the Dreaming of her father and stepfather. Linda's father was killed by a revenge spearing party in accordance with Customary Law when Linda was about eighteen months old; her stepfather, artist Lankata Shorty Tjungurrayi, subsequently brought her up. Before Lungkata died in 1985, he instructed Linda to carry on his work and paint his Dreaming. And so, in 1986, her two Uncles Uta Uta Tjangala and Nosepeg Tjupurrula taught Linda the art of painting. Her mother later married artist Shorty Lungkarta Tjungarrayi. His work was a significant influence on Linda's painting. Linda married several times, and still uses the family name of her second husband Musty Syddick (Cedick).

Kangaroo Man was one of the ancestral spirits from the dreamtime. These spirits had the gift of morphogenesis. They could change their shape from being amorphous and unseen to the physical shapes of animals and birds.

 Please Note: This Artist passed away in 2021 and out of respect for Aboriginal culture, we have removed the photograph of this Artist holding this artwork from our website.