Nora Wompi (c.1939-2017) was a Manyjilyjarra and Kukatja woman, born in the late 1930s in the Great Sandy Desert at Lipuru (Libral Well, Canning Stock Route Well 37). She grew up in the desert between Punmu and Kunawarritji (Well 33) and further north. Together with her close friend Nora Nungabar (Nyangapa) (dec.), Nora followed drovers travelling along the Canning Stock Route north to Balgo Mission, where she lived with her mother and worked baking bread and tending to goats. Nora met her husband at Balgo Mission, and together they travelled to Fitzroy Crossing, where she lived with him until his death. Nora then returned to Kunawarritji to be with her close relatives, where she remained until her passing in 2017.
Nora was a prolific painter and evocative storyteller, with deep knowledge about the Country surrounding her home at Kunawarritji. For many years she painted alongside Nora Nungabar with both Martumili Artists and Warlayirti Artists. Her work has been exhibited in galleries internationally and throughout Australia, and acquired by the National Museum of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Photograph by Tobias Titz.