MAUREEN POULSON NAPANGARDI WAS BORN IN 1958 IN PAPUNYA, DAUGHTER TO PILYARI NAPURULLA, A STRONG LAW WOMAN FOR PAPUNYA, AND IS SISTER AND NIECE RESPECTIVELY TO PAPUNYA TULA ARTISTS BROGAS TJAPANGARTI AND JOHNNY WARANGKULA TJUPURRULA.

They all share the Country around Ilpilli, Kalipinypa and Tjikari, and Maureen inherited their Kalipinypa Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) which tells of an important rain making ceremony, with the power to create new life and growth upon the land and the resulting storms.

Maureen’s work excites the eye as it elicits a sense of movement and vibrating patterns through her subtle shifts in colour and intricately dot-painted diamond shaped designs. She uses dotting to represent hailstorms, and her use of colours and designs are representative of waterholes, sandhills, clouds, lightning and rocks. Maureen often paints large scale, and dedicates many hours to each piece, painting at the art centre each day.

Her work is held at the Kunstwerk, Collection of Alison and Peter W. Klein, Eberdingen-Nussdorf, Germany, Artbank Collection and University of Western Sydney Collection.