Estelle is a senior Spinifex woman who has been a dedicated painter since the beginning of the Spinifex Arts Project in 1997. Estelle was born in the bush c.1937 and spent the first part of her life living a traditional hunter gatherer with her family in the Great Victoria Desert. In Spinifex culture responsibility for country comes with the place of birth and for Estelle this place is Paltaltjara. Paltatjara is Mirrl-Mirrl (Sacred Country) and can only be discussed in very general terms. Estelle notes that some of the major stories from Spinifex country intersect in and around Paltaltjara including Minyma Tjuta (Seven Sisters), Wati Kutjara (Two Men), Kalaya (Emu), Warluwarru (Eagle) and Kipara (Turkey).
As with most of the Spinifex people Estelle was temporarily dislocated from her homelands due to the British Nuclear tests around Maralinga in the 1950's. She moved to Cundeelee Mission further to the west but later returned to country with a core group of people and continues to reside in traditional country at Tjuntjuntjara. Estelle is a highly esteemed and knowledgeable desert woman, an invaluable member and contributor to the Spinifex Arts Project.
Estelle is a senior Spinifex woman who has been a dedicated painter since the beginning of the Spinifex Arts Project in 1997. Estelle was born in the bush c.1937 and spent the first part of her life living a traditional hunter gatherer with her family in the Great Victoria Desert. In Spinifex culture responsibility for country comes with the place of birth and for Estelle this place is Paltaltjara. Paltatjara is Mirrl-Mirrl (Sacred Country) and can only be discussed in very general terms. Estelle notes that some of the major stories from Spinifex country intersect in and around Paltaltjara including Minyma Tjuta (Seven Sisters), Wati Kutjara (Two Men), Kalaya (Emu), Warluwarru (Eagle) and Kipara (Turkey).
As with most of the Spinifex people Estelle was temporarily dislocated from her homelands due to the British Nuclear tests around Maralinga in the 1950's. She moved to Cundeelee Mission further to the west but later returned to country with a core group of people and continues to reside in traditional country at Tjuntjuntjara. Estelle is a highly esteemed and knowledgeable desert woman, an invaluable member and contributor to the Spinifex Arts Project.