Bessie Nakamarra Sims b. c.1940

  • Artist (Painter)
Warlpiri speaker and leading Yuendumu artist who has painted for and exhibited with Warlukurlangu Artists since 1986. She collaborated on a mural for the South Australian Museum, and her paintings are held in other major public and private collections.
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Born c.1940, Bessie is Warlpiri and lives at Yuendumu. In the early ’80s Bessie Sims joined the group of senior women at Yuendumu who were pioneers of the painting enterprise in the community. Her work has been included in many shows of Warlukurlangu Artists since the Editions Gallery exhibition in Perth in June 1986 and in Alice Springs, Adelaide, Sydney, Seattle, USA, Melbourne, Brisbane, and in Los Angeles, USA at the Caz Gallery. She is married to Paddy Japaljarri Sims and is the older sister of Michael Nelson Jagamara , both well-known artists. She paints the Ngarlajiyi (Bush Carrot) Dreaming associated with Wapurtali near Mt Singleton, west of Yuendumu, also Janganpa (Possum), Pamapardu (Flying Ant) and Karntajarra (Two Women) Dreamings. Her work featured on the catalogue cover of a show of Yuendumu paintings held at the Sydney Opera House in 1987. In 1988 she was commissioned to paint a mural for the South Australian Museum in collaboration with five other artists. With Maggie and Peggy Poulson, she is featured in the video which accompanied the Dreamings: Art Of Aboriginal Australia exhibition to the USA in 1988-9, painting an elaborately detailed Janganpa Dreaming. She is also depicted in the exhibition catalogue working with Paddy Sims on one of his paintings.

Writers:
Johnson, Vivien
Date written:
1994
Last updated:
2011

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References [<ExternalResource: (1988), 'Dreamings [videorecording] : the Art of Aboriginal Australia', Lindfield, NSW : Film Australia.>, <ExternalResource: Diggins, L. (1989), 'Myriad of Dreamings: Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art', Melbourne, VIC : Malakoff.>, <ExternalResource: West, M. (1988), 'The Inspired Dream: Life as Art in Aboriginal Australia', South Brisbane, QLD : Queensland Art Gallery.>, <ExternalResource: Johnson, V. (1991), 'The Painted Dream', Auckland, New Zealand : Auckland City Art Gallery.>, <ExternalResource: Sutton, P. (1988), 'Dreamings: Art Of Aboriginal Australia', Ringwood, VIC; Viking (in association with the Asia Society Galleries, New York).>, <ExternalResource: (1991), 'Australian Aboriginal Art from the Collection of Donald Kahn', Miami, USA : Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami.>, <ExternalResource: Information sourced from James, Glenn.>, <ExternalResource: Information sourced from Tyson, Geraldine.>, <ExternalResource: Information sourced from Lennard, Christine.>]