Joy Nakamarra

Joy Nakamarra’s painting style has a very distinctive, traditional design and her paintings are based on her family’s dreaming of collecting food. Joy’s skin name in Numina and her dreaming is an important aspect of “women’s business” involving the ceremonies of the “bush tucker”. Joy Nakamarra designs are based on her Dreamings, mainly focused on the collecting and gathering of bush tucker and women’s ceremonies. Joy Nakamarra Dreamings include Collecting Bush Tomato and Tracking kangaroo, Collecting Bush Berries and Sultanas, Collecting Bush Potato Beans and Water, Collecting Bush Onions, Collecting Honey Ants and Women’s Dreamings. Her paintings, like the one below, often combine areas of traditional dots and general brush marks. Her Dreamings have been handed down to her by her ancestors. Her easy sense of design and attention to detail, have earned her much acclaim, and her works have been extensively exhibited and highly collected.