Yalti Napangati

Yalti Napangati is a Pintupi artist and member of the renowned Pintupi Nine — the last known Aboriginal group to live a traditional nomadic lifestyle in the desert before making contact with wider Australian society in 1984. Born in the remote Gibson Desert of Western Australia, Yalti spent her early life walking vast distances with her family, hunting and gathering according to ancestral law and Tjukurrpa (Dreaming).

Her family’s decision to leave the desert and settle at Kiwirrkurra was a historic moment, marking the final chapter in one of the world’s last intact hunter-gatherer societies. Despite this dramatic transition, Yalti and her family maintained strong connections to their traditional knowledge and cultural practices, which are deeply embedded in her artistic expression.

Yalti began painting in the late 1990s, drawing on sacred stories and sites connected to her ancestral lands around Marruwa and Wirrulnga. Her work is characterised by intricate dotting, earthy tones, and abstracted aerial perspectives that map the journeys of her ancestors and the rich spiritual geography of her Country.

Painting is both a personal and communal act for Yalti, through which she preserves the teachings of her elders and passes on cultural knowledge to future generations. Her artworks have been exhibited across Australia and internationally, celebrated for their authenticity, cultural depth, and unique insight into a way of life few have experienced firsthand.

As a custodian of Pintupi law and one of the last people to grow up in the desert before colonisation reached her family, Yalti Napangati offers a powerful and rare perspective through her art — one that honours resilience, cultural endurance, and the strength of Country.