Kukula McDonald

Kukula McDonald is a Luritja woman from the renowned painting community of Papunya in the Northern Territory, some 240km west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). Kukula predominantly paints yellow- or red-tailed black cockatoos (iranti); although has been known to paint other native birds such as Sulphur-crested and Major Mitchell cockatoos, and is also known for her paintings of wheelchairs.

Kukula knows where to find “big mobs” of black cockatoos in the Central and Western Deserts and pays close attention to the details of the colour of the desert life, from fruits and flowers, from stars to sunsets. In the background of her paintings, Kukula often depicts Uttumpatu, the rocky outcrops that form ridge lines of hills beside her community of Papunya. These landscape formations hold cultural significance for the people of Papunya.

Kukula has a knack for capturing the cheeky nature of the cockatoos with each one exhibiting an individual expression. Kukula likes to create stories about the relationships between the birds as she paints - it is an activity that she enjoys immensely, and this joy emanates from her canvases to the viewer. Kukula’s artwork has been widely exhibited and collected. Her artwork was recently used on the cover of a book titled 'Flock: First Nations Stories, Then and Now' by Ellen van Neerven.