Pamela Morris Nanaku

Pamela Morris Nanaku was born at new Wave Hill Station (Jamangku) in 1965. Her father was a stockman at the station. Her mother was from Alice Springs and later worked at the pre-school in Lajamanu and Kalkaringi.

Pamela learned to paint from her grandmother, artist Ruby Napananka, who lived in Ali Curung. Her grandmother’s Dreaming is Lamawurt (Witchetty Grub). Her sister, Rachael Morris taught her how to paint her other Dreaming story, Yarla (Bush Potato). Long ago her father would go hunting for kangaroo and her aunties would collect yarla with their digging sticks. Her aunt would tell her the story of the women collecting yarla as she was painting it.

Pamela now lives in Kalkaringi. She has three sons and four daughters and eleven grandchildren.