Yukultji Napangati

Yukultji Napangati was born around 1971 at Marruwa, near Wilkinkarra (Lake Mackay) in the Gibson Desert. Until 1984, she lived a completely traditional, nomadic lifestyle with no contact with Western society.

In 1984, Yukultji and her family—part of a small group that included Walala, Thomas, and Warlimpirringa Tjapaltjarri—emerged from the desert west of Lake Mackay. Upon arriving in the remote community of Kiwirrkurra, near the Northern Territory–Western Australia border, they encountered non-Indigenous people for the first time. The group became widely known as "the last of the nomads," the final nine Pintupi individuals to transition from a desert-based way of life to contemporary settlement, following a prolonged drought that led to scarcity of food and water.

Now residing in Kiwirrkurra, near Kintore, Yukultji is married to Charlie Ward Tjakamarra, a respected Papunya Tula artist.

Yukultji began painting for Papunya Tula Artists in 1996 and often collaborates with her sister, Yalti Napangardi. Both women are highly regarded in the contemporary Indigenous art world, with their work exhibited widely in Australia and internationally, and increasingly sought after by collectors.

Yukultji’s paintings focus on Marrapinti, her mother’s ancestral country. She works primarily with acrylics, choosing to prime her canvases with an earthy red tone that echoes the colours of the desert landscape. This base is sometimes layered with black, symbolically blending the earth and the body—creating a unified foundation from which her compositions emerge.