DOB: Willowra, Northern Territory
Language: Warlpiri
Dreaming’s: Women’s Ceremony, Ngurlu ((Damper Seeds), Bush Tucker, Ngapa (Water), Lighting & Storm
Janet Long Nakamarra, born in 1960, is an Indigenous artist from Central Australia. She was raised in a traditional lifestyle on her homelands near Willowra Community. Janet is the daughter of artist Nora Long Nakamarra. Her sister Doreen Dickson Nakamarra is an artist and her half brother is the talented artist Malcom Maloney Jagamarra.
After completing her education, Janet became involved in community work, assisting elders in producing books in the Warlpiri language and pursuing a career in teaching. She gained recognition as a linguist within her community and worked as a literacy worker at Willowra School.
Janet started painting in 1989, receiving guidance from her half-brother Malcolm Maloney Jagamarra. She depicts stories related to Ngapa (Water Dreaming) and uses traditional iconography and intricate dotting techniques to represent the land's water soakage’s and ancestral journeys. Janet also paints the traditional body paint designs for her Warntapari Dreamings (homelands of Warntapari, near Willowra Community).
In addition to her artwork focused on water, Janet's subjects also include various bush tucker collected such as witchetty grub, seeds including damper seeds and women’s ceremony. The Damper seed is collected and ground into flour to make a traditional bread/damper. It was an important food source for many people throughout Central and Western Australia.
She draws on her deep knowledge of language and culture to convey the mythology and teachings of the Warlpiri people through her art.
Janet has exhibited her paintings internationally, including in New York, and considers her work as a way to teach and share her culture with others. She also utilizes her language skills as an interpreter for the Department of Health and Law Courts. Currently, she is pursuing law studies in New South Wales.
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