Artist Profile

Janet Long Nakamarra

Janet Long Nakamarra was born in 1960 at Anninie in the traditional land of Warntaparri people. She began painting in 1989 as her Aunts May and Molly Napurrula showed her how to paint the traditional body paint designs for her Warntaparri Dreaming.

Later on her brother Malcolm Jagamarra a famous Aboriginal artist taught her techniques of using acrylic paint on canvas. This medium made it easier for Janet to teach people about her culture and the stories handed down from her ancestors. Janet's mother Nora Long Nakamarra (deceased) and her sister Doreen Dickson Nakamarra are well known artist.

Janet depicts stories, mythology and religion of her people in her paintings. She is also a Linguist by training and has produced bi-lingual literature. Through hard work and study, Janet gained the status of Linguist with her people and began to teach as a literacy worker at the Willowra School. She produced bi-lingual literature for use in the teaching programmes. Her linguistic talents led her to many contacts with the rest of Australia. When Vivien Johnson began to write her book “Aboriginal Artists of the Western Desert” it was Janet she approached to review and correct any Aboriginal terms that were in the book.

Janet uses her deep knowledge of language to translate her Dreaming stories onto canvas in a way that no other artist is able to achieve. Her paintings have many small details in them that tell a story as a whole. The story that she writes for the paintings is as fascinating as the painting itself. These stories tell of the mythology and religion of her people in a way that any outsider can understand and learn from.

Janet’s paintings have been exhibited in reputable galleries in New York, Hong Kong and Australia.

Janet Long Nakamarra at Karlangu Aboriginal Art Centre

You are welcome to visit our art gallery to view Janet Long Nakamarra and other aboriginal artists artwork on Linen/Canvas, Coolamon, Didgeridoo, Boomerang and Pottery at: KARLANGU ABORIGINAL ART CENTRE, 47 York Street, Sydney, 2000, NSW, Australia