Helen Nungarrayi Reed

Helen Nungarrayi Reed was born in 1971 in Haast Bluff, a community located 227 km west of Alice Springs in NT of Australia.

She grew up in Kintore, a small Aboriginal community with a population of about 400, located 550 km west of Alice Springs, near the NT/WA border, where her father and sister still live. Her mother passed away when she was very young. She now lives in Nyirripi, originally an outstation of Yuendumu but now a small community, 440 km west from Alice Springs in Northern Territory. She lives with her husband Geoffrey Gallagher.

Helen has been painting since 2014. She paints her father’s Ninkuwakal country. She likes painting because it reminds her of her father and the colours remind her of her country.

The Dreaming describes the journey of a group of women of all ages who travelled east gathering food, collecting Ngalyipi (Tinospora smilacina or Snake Vine) and performing ceremonies as they travelled. The women began their journey at Mina Mina where Karlangu (digging sticks) emerged from the ground. Taking these implements the women travelled east creating Janyinki and other sites. Their journey took them eventually beyond Warlpiri country.