Sonya Napaljarri Murphy

Sonya Murphy was born in Alice Springs in 1982. She first grew up in Mungkarta (Mc Larren Creek), at about 90km south west from Tennant Creek. From her father side, she belongs to the Waramungu language group and from her mother’s side, to the Warlpiri and Kaytetye language group. Sonya first came to Ali Curung when she was 12 years old. Her grandmother was living here and the community had a bigger school than Mungkarta at the time. It’s her grandmother who taught her how to paint back in 1998 at the women centre. She learnt by watching her and reproducing the patterns at the same time. She uses the brush, sticks, paint bottle, sometimes grass. Sonya mostly paints bush tucker and country. It reminds her of her childhood, when the family was going out hunting.