Lynette Corby Nungurrayi b. 1958

Lynette Corby Nungurrayi was born at Ikuntji (Haasts Bluff) in the Northern Territory, some 230km west of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). She has been an active community member at Watiyawanu (Mount Leibig) since 1980 when she moved there, working as an artist and as a teacher of Luritja language, both written and spoken. In 1990, she began painting for Papunya Tula Artists Co-Op. She is an adventurous and versatile artist, known for her working and experimenting with different artistic forms - including weaving and screen printing - while still communicating the ancient stories and Dreamings of her ancestral country.

Lynette was “grown up by” her stepfather, esteemed artist David Corby Tjapaltjarri (c.1945-1980). David Corby was a younger member of the early group of artists at Papunya at the dawn of the Western Desert Art movement in the early 1970s. Lynette learned to paint from her mother, and using the dot and linework techniques that are characteristic of the Western Desert style, depicts the features of her homeland, namely the rockholes and waterholes where precious water can be found. She also incorporates the root systems of trees that are reaching towards these sources, and a dense dotting technique to represent the grass seeds scattering across the country.

Lynette’s works are sought after and have been featured in a number of exhibitions, including an entry in the 2003 NATSIAA Awards.