Lucy Yukenbarri comes from country that extends along the area in the Great Sandy Desert now known as the Canning Stock Route to Jupiter Well and Well 33. This includes such sites as Marpa, Piyulpa, Winpupulla and Wirtjinti. The Oxford Companion to Aboriginal Art and Culture states: 'Yukenbarri is known among the Balgo artists for having invented a new style of dotting called kinti-kinti (close-close) in 1990 soon after she began to paint. Her early works followed the standard Balgo methods of forming lines by means of rows of dotting and of outlining icons in a similar way. A quietly creative artist, she then moved to another technique in use by other Balgo painters at the time - single colour fields of dotting - but she alone made a next step of moving the dots so closely together that they converged, creating dense masses of pigment on the surface of the canvas. This, together with her exploration of the visible possibilities of black icons for waterholes and soaks, and her use of dark green and blue pigments, gave her work a distinctive style, producing effects unique in desert Aboriginal art.'
Lucy’s paintings are deeply connected to her Marpa country—the land of significant women depicted throughout her works, particularly in connection to ceremonial activities. Her dot work features some of the food found at Marpa, especially kantilli (bush raisin). The kurkapi (desert oak) is also present and portrayed as three solid bands of colour. Many of her paintings portray tali (sand dunes), a dominant feature of the landscape. Her husband, Helicopter Tjungurrayi, was also a Warlayirti artist. They had eight children, two of whom are renowned artists.
Yukenbarri's husband is Helicopter Tjungurrayi who is also a Warlayirti artist. They had eight children two of which are reonowned artists.
Collections
ArtBank, Sydney
Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Queensland
Campbelltown City Art Gallery
National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Victoria
The Holmes à Court Collection
Laverty Collection
Kluge Ruhe Collection, USA
Parliament House Art Collection
Alice Springs Art Foundation, Araluen Centre
Ken Thompson and Pierre Marecaux Collection