Evelyn Daniels b. 1979

Evelyn Daniels is a self-taught artist from the Warumpi (Papunya) region of the Northern Territory. Evelyn paints her memories of community life as she was growing up, in particular dancing as a young girl. Evelyn is also the cousin of renowned artist, Esther Bruno Nangala.

“After school, the boys and girls would go separately and the girls would dance with their grandmas and aunties and the boys would dance with their uncles and grandfathers. We would learn all the different dances. It was fun.”

Evelyn has an incredible eye for detail - even including intricate designs on the girl's clothing - always spanning her canvases with bush flowers, perenties, school buses and camp dogs. You can see the women are adorned with traditional body paint designs, and small children sitting alongside with clapsticks. If you look closely, you can often see children digging for tucker like maku (witchetty grubs) in the tree roots, or nesting birds in the trees, or families cooking tucker on the fire. She also often paints a fond memory she has of when a film crew came into Papunya to film the women performing ceremonial dance.

Evelyn has a unique painting style, but incorporates the dotting technique of the Western Desert movement to depict Uttumpatu, the rocky outcrops that form ridge lines of hills near Papunya. Evelyn’s naive style of painting conveys a sincere and unaffected portrayal of community life, and her incredible eye for detail and her fond memories of her childhood shine through her canvases.