Minyma Kutjara Tjukurrpa by Bonnie Connelly Nakara

BONNIE CONNELLY NAKARA

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA Two Women Creation Story

1 - 2 2 March 2025

Bonnie Connelly Nakara

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA

Two Women Creation Story

Art Leven, in partnership with Tjarlirli Art, proudly presents Minyma Kutjara Tjukurrpa, a solo exhibition by Bonnie Connelly Nakara.

Using a delicate dry-brush technique, Nakara brings to life the rich textures of the desert landscape that she has called home for a lifetime. Born near Papulankuja (Blackstone in Western Australia), she has traveled extensively across the remote Ngaanyatjarra lands, drawing inspiration from her deep cultural knowledge, ancestral connections, and the vast familial networks that weave through the desert.

The exhibition runs from March 1 – 22, 2025, at Art Leven.

Bonnie Connelly Nakara

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA Two Women Creation Story

Born in 1936, Bonnie Connelly Nakara and her family moved to the Walka area when she was young. Walka is a significant site as it at the confluence of the Tjala Tjukkurpa (Honey Ant Country) and the Minyma Kutjara Tjukkurpa (Two Women creation story). Both depicted in Bonnie’s paintings.

The Minyma Kutjara (Two Women) story is unique to the Walka area. It is a creation story that follows two sisters as they separate from their ten siblings and journey deep into the country.

Bonnie Connelly Nakara

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA

Two Women Creation Story

Image Credit Tjarlirli Arts

21330 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2023 40 x 30 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21316 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 91 x 56.5 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21029 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 40.5 x 76.5 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21318 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Tjukurrpa, 2023 75 x 40.5 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

Bonnie’s children walking to the Minyma Kutjara site, 17 December 2025. Photo by Remy Faint.

Their journey takes them to Walka, known as Tjalaku-Ngurra (Honey Ant Country), where the sisters stop to dig for honey ants.

One sister kneels to dig while carrying a coolamon—a shallow, curved-sided dish—on her head to collect the honey ants. She can still be seen there today, now transformed into a rock formation. The other sister dug deeper and has become submerged into the hill.

The honey ant eggs, unearthed by the sisters in their search, are scattered across the surrounding hillside as white rocks.

Bonnie’s eldest daughter, Marlene, says that Bonnie knows the songline and the Tjukurpa for that area. “Mum grew up here, and her brother was born there,” making it a place of deep significance for her.

Marlene remembers the time she spent with Bonnie at Walka as a child. A nearby cave, which provided shelter for the family when it rained, features ancient rock art of the Honey Ant Tjukurpa and the Two Sisters Tjukurpa—evidence of the timescale this story is a part of, passed from one generation to the next.

Map of the Walka and Kaltukatjara Region, February 2025. Graphic by Reuben Jacob.

Bonnie Connelly Nakara

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA

Two Women Creation Story

Minyma Kutjara site, 17 December 2025. Photo by Remy. Image Courtsey of Tjarlirli Arts

21025 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Ngurra Tjalaku, 2024 76.2 x 101.5 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21326 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Ngurra Tjalaku, 2023 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21328 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Kunga Kutjara, 2019 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21323 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21325 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2023 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21321 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2023 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21329 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Ngurra Tjalaku, 2022 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

Bonnie conveys this knowledge through the intricacies of her paintings, which now live on through another pair of sisters— Marlene and Dianne, two of her six children.

The custodianship of The Two Sisters story and the Walka area has passed from Bonnie to her children. As a senior artist, proud great-grandmother, and strong cultural woman, her paintings serve as a legacy for them and future generations, preserving the eternal story lines within their Tjukurpa—a path to follow long after she is gone.

Text Written by Tjarlirli Arts

Bonnie Connelly Nakara

MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA

Two Women Creation Story

Image Credit Tjarlirli Arts; Children at the cave at Walka, 7 December 2025. Photo by Remy Faint

Minyma Kutjara site, 17 December 2025. Photo by Riley. Image Courtsey of Tjarlirli Arts

21322 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21320 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Ngurra Tjalaku, 2022 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21317 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21319 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2023 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21324 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Minyma Kutjara, 2024 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

21327 BONNIE NAKARA CONNELLY Ngurra Tjalaku, 2016 55 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas

ART LEVEN [formerly Cooee Art] A: 17 Thurlow Street, Redfern, NSW 2016 T: +612 9300 9233 E: info@artleven.com W: www.artleven.com ABN: 89 614 431 319

The Minyma Kutjara (Two Women) story is unique to the Walka area.

It is a creation story that follows two sisters as they separate from their ten siblings and journey deep into the country

Bonnie Connelly Nakara MINYMA KUTJARA TJUKURRPA Two Women Creation Story

1 - 2 2 March 2025