Myra Nungarrayi Herbert (Patrick)
Myra was born at Willowra c.1946. Her country is Wirliyajarrayi (Two Feet), which is the Warlpiri name for Willowra. She paints Mala, Jumurrpa, Ngatijirri (Bush Budgerigar), Witi/kurlarda (Spear/Pole) – from Kurlangalimpa (Duck Pond), Jutiya (Snake), Ngalyipi (Snake Vine), Jurlpa (Butcher Bird), Jurlpa (Small Barn Owl), Malu (kangaroo) Witi (Ceremonial Pole), Bush Vine, Snake and Cockatoo, Watiya and Karrkarrdu (Cockatoo) Dreamings, some of these were conjunction with her late husband, Freddy Patrick Jangala – they often painted sitting down together, though mostly they do separate paintings. She is a senior law lady in Lajamanu.
As a young woman, Myra walked across the Tanami desert with her father in the early 1960s to Lajamanu, where her arranged husband was living. Myra Patrick commenced painting in 1986 during the Traditional Painting Course initiated by the T.A.F.E. Unit in Lajamanu. Her approach to depicting Jukurrpa (Dreaming) in her painting was diametrically different from that of other Lajamanu artists.
Her early work is immediately identifiable by her minuscule dots, which were part of Myra’s conscious development of her individualistic style. Her work is like pointillism but has asymmetrical qualities that distinguish it from pop art. She has worked these effects on pottery for an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1990. Minute dots are now a familiar technique, but few have used them with such subtle refinement. She collects tiny twigs and sharpens them to do the dots. Minute dots are now a familiar technique, but few have used them with such subtle refinement. She collects tiny twigs and sharpens them to do the dots. She estimates that she takes about five weeks to complete a canvas.
Myra Patrick made some pottery (part of the National Gallery of Victoria collection) and sometimes collaborated on her husband's paintings, Freddy Jangala Patrick (now deceased). A Botany glass factory has also signed a contract with Myra Patrick and Marjorie Watson to blow their designs into glass.
In recent years, she has decided to use her father's family name, Herbert. Myra's father was born in Yinipaka, so this is where her dreamings come from.
In 2018, Myra was selected to participate in Parrtjima, an indigenous light festival in Alice Springs. Her paintings were translated into visual light projections and a collaborative installation of sounds and sights of the budgerigar.
By the early 1990s, Myra had developed RSI from painting and was told to quit, but refused. As a result, she changed her painting style. Her current work is of the contemporary style in Lajamanu, mimicking the broad brush stroke designs painted on bodies and sacred objects during ceremony.
Myra is one of a group of Lajamanu women who have played a critical part in the engagement of Warlpiri culture with mainstream organisations, including the Department of Education, the Central Land Council, Tracks Dance Company, and numerous academic institutions. She is a fantastic collaborator with a sharp intellect and a deep creative passion. She is also an expert hunter and has a wide-ranging knowledge of country and traditional song. She is often one of the key women involved in country visits organised with the school and the Lajamanu rangers.
Myra has been a key player in all of the Tracks and Lajamanu collaborations and has performed in many of the company’s productions. As a senior law woman of Lajamanu, Myra is a key cultural adviser to Tracks when it comes to women’s business.
Myra Working with Tracks Dance
Lajamanu Banner and Mural Project
Lajamanu Visual Arts Residency
The Opportunity of Distance Tour
Ngapa – Two Cultures One Country
Fierce – The Story of Olive Pink
Fierce – the Meeting of Olive Pink