About Me

Penangke is my skin name handed down to me from my father through our kinship system. I am Kaytetye. Thangkenharenge is our Country and we are of that place. Called Barrow Creek in the common tongue but in our language it means place of the bird - in particular, the place of the Zebra Finch. Ngimarre is the Kaytetye word for the Zebra Finch.

I grew up with artists in the family. My uncle Reggie Sultan has been painting since before I was born. My uncle Rexie and my aunties Joannie and June Sultan are also artists and I have watched them paint my entire life. It was through my aunty June that I began painting dot work. Now, me and many of my sisters and nieces also paint dot work, to continue the family tradition. Now that she has passed, I feel it more important to continue her legacy.

Painting at first was a creative outlet when I made it through medical school. After all those years of studying and learning clinical medicine, I needed a creative outlet. My art style is modern abstract originally inspired by my love for colour. But always, especially over time, my artworks are inspired by Country. Today I paint both modern art and dot work which are forever evolving - changing and growing as I do through the years. 

My family, my Culture, my Country are deeply woven into the fabric of my being as a Kaytetye woman. They are integral to my existence and are threaded into every facet of my life.  Today I am a full-time doctor and part-time artist and occasional photographer. I love the land, the night sky, and wildlife. 

I’m so glad you could stop by.

Jean Pepperill Penangke is an Artist Member of Indigenous Art Code.

This means as a Kaytetye artist I am adding my voice to the call for fair and ethical trade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, and transparency in the promotion and sale of artwork.