Mona Napaljarri Rockman
Mona is one of several Rockman sisters. She lived in Lajamanu with one sister Peggy until moving to Katherine to live in an aged care facility. She was a very elderly lady born in the early 1900’s. In previous years Mona taught at the school. Her depth of knowledge came with experience on the land, walking around the dreaming stories, many hundreds of kilometres in the Tanami Desert. Her painting is made of dots which join and has texture. This is very specific to Mona’s style of artistic practise. Her Jukurrpa is the sacred the Budgerigar Dreaming story her main choice of subject. The delicate feminine palette she chose is consistent with who Mona the person is – polite, respectful, understanding mainly old Warlpiri culture, but having seen enormous changes in her lifetime. These characteristics are represented in her detailed yet simple style of work.