Alyawarr woman, Julie Pungata is a traditional custodian of Bushy Park (Anmatjere) Country. Julie didn’t grow up in an artistic family, being the first of her four sisters and two brothers to paint. Her mother and father would spend their time gathering food and moving across the Country. Julie began her painting career with the Utopia Art Centre in 2020, sharing stories of her Country and fathers Country, Irrarnt, Black Cockatoo.

“Those cockies fly everywhere. All across my Country looking for seeds. That’s my dreaming. Those cockies. There are too many there, keeping me awake when I’m trying to sleep. When I was little, I was sleeping near that tree with my sister.”