DOB: 7 January 1932

BORN: Yuendumu, Northern Territory
LANGUAGE GROUP: Warlpiri
COUNTRY: Yuendumu

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“I like painting cause it’s my Dreaming – Bush Carrot, Yam Dreaming … from my father and grandfather’s side. I like to teach kids my Dreaming. I want everyone to know my Dreaming from all over the world. I know, and they can know.”

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Bessie (1932–2012) was born in the bush, and lived at Mt Doreen Station, west of Yuendumu, for many years before meeting white people. She lived in Yuendumu, a remote Aboriginal community located 290 kms north-west of Alice Springs, where she died in 2012. Bessie was the wife of Paddy Japaljarri Sims (deceased), a renowned artist, nationally and internationally, who painted with Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation (an Aboriginal-owned and governed art centre located in Yuendumu) for a long time. Bessie did not live in her famous husband’s shadow, for her own work has long been widely admired and collected.

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Bessie had seven children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she was one of the most valued members of the Warlukurlangu Artists Community. She painted consistently with Warlukurlangu Artists since the centre was first established in 1985 and has exhibited nationally and internationally in Group Exhibitions since 1986. She painted her Jukurrpa stories, Dreamings that relate directly to her land, its features and the plants and animals that inhabit it. Besides painting, Bessie was an active member of Yuendumu Night Patrol, which helps keep Yuendumu a safe community. In her spare time, she used to love hunting for wardapi (goanna) and bush tucker such as yarla (bush potato) and yakajirri (bush tomato).

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When Bessie passed away in Yuendumu surrounded by her extended family, some of her last words were “Japaljarri (her husband) is calling me, he is waiting for me.”

 

Source: Warlukurlangu Artists Aboriginal Corporation

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