Eliza Nampijimpa Haywood

Eliza was born and raised at Neutral Junction. Her family moved to Ali Curung when Eliza was five years old. She went to school at Ali Curung and started painting when CDEP (Community Development Employment Program) first started. She worked as a supervisor at the Women’s Centre and started painting there in 2000.I grew up in Ali Curung when it was a mission settlement called Warrabri. “I am Kaytetye woman. At Ali Curung, we use to live in the jilimi. A small tin shed for Kaytetye woman and children. I went to school at Ali Curung and we use to eat our meals in the big tin shed. When I finished school, I worked at shop first. I worked as a Health Worker for 9 years at Ali Curung Clinic. I did training with other Health Workers at Batchelor College. After, the clinic I started to work at the Women’s Centre. That was in the early 90s and that’s when I started painting. I was looking at the old people, learning from them and then, I started painting. I moved to Epenarra for a while with my family. I am back at Ali Curung now, because the art centre is going strong at Ali Curung. My dreaming is Ngapa (water) and Warrakulangu (fire) dreaming. I got the water dreaming from my father. My mother’s dreaming is Warrakulangu dreaming. The dreaming relates to the land where my mother and father were from. Painting story I am painting my mother’s dreaming (yaulu) story. It’s of her country, Warrakulangu, the fire dreaming story.”