Elizabeth Marks Nakamarra

Women's Rockhole  | 125h x 175w  |  RK056

Not stretched or framed  |  Acrylic on Belgian linen

Born at Walungurru c1959, Elizabeth is the daughter of Frank Tjupurrula and Mary Napanangka. Her father died when she was an infant and Elizabeth was raised by her stepfather Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula and uncle Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula, both esteemed artists of the Papunya Tula art movement. 

She married Mick Namerari Tjapaltjarri, (Deceased) who was also a key artist of the Papunya Tula movement, with whom she had three children Angelina, Peter and Farren.  Elizabeth studied for three years at the Bachelor College in Alice Springs and served as a council member in Kintore for two years where she worked assiduously assisting her community members. Her languages from her father’s side are Pintupi, Luritja and, from her mother’s side, Warlpiri. 

She was one of the later generation of women artists to join Papunya Tula Artists, this important, Aboriginal owned and operated co-operative, based in Kintore and Kiwirrkura, painting in her own right in 1998 after her husband died.

Elizabeth paints her father’s (Tjupurrula) stories from the area of Kalipinya, located approximately 400km west of Alice Springs and north of Sandy Blight Junction. Her paintings revolve around the creation time - the time before man walked the earth, when a huge storm caused lightning to flash and the water torrent formed the landscape creating rock holes and creeks. Her paintings incorporate elements of the storm, lightening, flash flooding, important rock holes, soaks and creeks. Some of her paintings are Escher-like - using one colour, with a contrasting lighter hue, on a black background. The straight lines are made up of dragged dots, and are drawn at ninety degrees to each other to build retreating and advancing line-tunnels.