Biography:
Doris Bush Nungarrayi was born circa 1942 in Haasts Bluff/Ikuntji. Her father, who was Warlpiri, came into the ration depot from his country west of Nyrripi and around Kintore after the birth of Doris's eldest brother Wirri Tjungurrayi. Her mother, Yalkutjari Nakamarra was a Pintupi woman from the Kintore region whose father was Boss, or Senior Law Holder for the Kintore region, where he is buried.
Doris is a contraction of Dorothy - she is also known by her Aboriginal name, Darinji. She had a younger sister also called Dorothy (born 1952) whose Aboriginal name was Danisa. Doris grew up at Haasts Bluff where she met and married the late George Bush Tjangala, a Luritja/Anmatyerr speaking man whose family came from just west of Alice Springs. Together they had three sons: Kenny, Christopher, and Simon, and Doris has six grandchildren. George Bush was one of the original shareholders of Papunya Tula Artists, although he only painted for a brief period for the company in the early 1980s. In the mid 1980’s the family went to live on an outstation at Nyunmanu in Doris’ mother’s country out towards the WA/NT border. Doris continues to paint Nyunmanu and the traditional Tjukurrpa (Dreaming) of this place, Dingo Dreaming.
After her husband's death in 1997, Doris spent increasing amounts of time in Papunya. After Papunya Tjupi Arts was established in Papunya in late 2007, Doris quickly became one of the most prolific and enthusiastic painters in the community and is usually the first to arrive each morning when - or even before - the doors open. Doris also paints vivid memories, stories and dreams from her life, with her work often telling happy stories from her early days in Ikuntji, eating, hunting and swimming with her friends and family in the bush. Doris’ works embody her nature of a true storyteller with her expressive style, bold use of colour and recognisable motifs.
As Doris often visits Alice Springs to spend time with her eldest son who lives in one of the Town Camps, Doris has been a visiting artist at Tangentyere Artists since 2017, occasionally painting here when visiting with family. Tangentyere Artists and Papunya Tjupi Artists have a good working relationship, with several artists from each art centre being close family.
In March/April 2012 Doris had her own solo exhibition at Damien Minton Gallery in Redfern Sydney, the first artist to do so under the auspices of Papunya Tjupi. Finalist in the TELSTRA National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (2020), Bayside Acquisitive Art Prize (2019) and shortlisted in the Alice Art Prize (2018), her work is held in the Artbank Collection, Macquarie Bank Collection, University of Western Sydney Collection, The Hassall Collection, and private collections internationally.
