BORN 1959

REGION Angus Downs

LANGUAGE Pitjantjatjara

Jorna Newberry (born c.1959) is a Pitjantjatjara artist from Angus Downs in Central Australia. She divides her time between Alice Springs and Warakurna, maintaining a strong connection to her ancestral Country and cultural traditions.

Beginning her painting career in the mid-1990s, Jorna creates richly layered abstract works that depict the landscapes and ancestral stories of Irrunytju and her mother’s Country at Utantja. Her paintings reflect Tjukurrpa (Dreaming), ceremonial knowledge and the enduring relationship between people and Country, while respecting the cultural protocols surrounding sacred narratives.

A niece of renowned artist Tommy Watson, Jorna has developed a distinctive artistic voice of her own. Her expressive compositions feature vibrant colour, flowing lines and intricate mark-making, conveying the movement, energy and spiritual presence of the desert landscape.

Jorna Newberry has exhibited widely throughout Australia and internationally. Her work is held in significant public and private collections and is recognised for its powerful combination of cultural depth and contemporary abstraction.