Born at Haasts Bluff in the early years of the mission settlement, Pansy moved across to the newly constructed government settlement of Papunya in 1960. Unlike many other women artists now associated with Papunya Tula Artists, she did not serve an apprenticeship working on the paintings of her male relatives, but began working for herself, she says, from the early ’70s. After observing artists like Johnny Warangkula and Kaapa Tjampitjinpa , she began developing her own style. She practised on paper and later did collages using her designs made up of glue and brightly coloured ininti seeds. Pansy sold her works independently in Alice Springs. She worked in this manner for about five years, followed by a long gap until 1983, when she began painting for Papunya Tula Artists, emerging by the end of the decade as Papunya Tula’s foremost woman artist. Her work was included in the company’s display at the 1988 Brisbane Expo, and featured on the cover of catalogue of The Inspired Dream , shown at the same time at the Queensland Art Gallery. She had two solo exhibitions, the first at the Sydney Opera House in September 1988 through the Centre for Aboriginal Artists (for whom she painted for occasionally) followed by one at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in Melbourne in May 1989, through Papunya Tula Artists. In 1989 she won the sixth National Aboriginal Art Award. Under the auspices of Papunya Tula Artists she showed at the Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi in late 1991 and independently in Brisbane with Eunice Napangati in early 1992. Her work also appeared in several major surveys of Aboriginal art, including Mythscapes at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1989 and Karnta a show of Aboriginal Women’s work at the Art Gallery of NSW in 1991. She has one son and four adopted children. In the late 1980s she attended literacy classes at the IAD with many of the women from the Jukurrpa painting group based at the Institute. Her sister, Alice Napangati, was married to artist Dinny Nolan and lived in Papunya. Her younger brother, Brogas Tjapangati, also painted for Papunya Tula Artists. She paints Bush Banana, Water Snake, Marlu (Kangaroo) Cockatoo, Bush Mangoes, Willy Wagtail from her father and grandfather’s country around Pikilyi (Vaughan Springs) and Seven Sisters, Hail, Desert Raisin, Two Women Dreamings from her mother’s country Ilpili.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
Note: primary biographer
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2011
