DOB: c. 1940

BORN: Woodgreen Station, Utopia, Northern Territory
LANGUAGE GROUP: Anmatyerre
COUNTRY: Utopia, Northern Territory

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Evelyn was born at Woodgreen Station, a cattle property adjoining the Utopia Station, around the time of the outbreak of World War II. She is the niece of renowned artist, the late Emily Kngwarreye, and the sister of Greeny Purvis Pultara – both of whom share with Evelyn the plant totem of the Antwelarr (bush yam), an abundant source of food since creation. Evelyn is now a senior custodian of the Dreaming of the Antwelarr, and it is her responsibility to pay homage to it through song and dance in ceremony, and now in art. Through their telling and retelling and the depiction of their sites in art, these Dreamings provide a song-map that locates the water holes, ochre pits, food sources, and sacred sites of the artist’s Country. It has been said that her paintings impart the rhythm of the yam corroboree enacted and retold through song and dance.

In 2005, Evelyn was the winner of the General Painting division of the 22nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA). Prior to winning NATSIAA award, Evelyn has had solo exhibitions in Sydney and Milan, and her work has featured in several group exhibitions around Australia.