Tjawina Roberts

Tjawina ‘Nellie’ Roberts (b.1946) Tjawina was born at Kata Kurti-kurti near Blackstone in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands of Western Australia. After her mother died Tjawina and her siblings, Karrika Belle Davidson and Tjuruparu Watson, were brought to Warburton mission by her family, where she was introduced to inks, crayons, chalk and other art materials. In the summer holidays Tjawina would leave the mission and walk back to her Country with her family, where she was taught tjukurpa (creation stories) and bush skills by the minyma pampa (old women). Tjawina was one of the original founding members of Irrunytju Arts and is now a senior artist for Minyma Kutjara Arts Project. Tjawina’s paintings draw on ancient tjukurpa as well as contemporary stories. After the recognition of Native Title in 2005 Roberts painted  images which symbolically depicted the different communities in the Ngaanyatjarra Lands.