About Sharon

Sharon Numina was born in 1981 and attended Kormilda College in Darwin. She is one of six sisters and two brothers. Her mother, Barbara Price Mbtitjana, a senior painter and cultural elder from Stirling Station near Tennant Creek, instructed all her daughters in the art of painting. Sharon is recognised as one of the younger painters among the esteemed Numina Sister desert artists. Currently, she resides in Darwin with her older sisters.

Sharon's father, who has since passed away, hailed from Utopia. The narratives of Bush Tucker, Goanna Tracks, Dingo Trails, and other motifs represented in Sharon's artwork are derived from her mother's and father's Country, as well as the Dreaming totems and stories grounded in cultural knowledge.

Sharon, along with her sisters and mother, comes from a distinguished lineage of desert painters who have contributed to the contemporary Aboriginal art movement and the dot painting tradition. This lineage is influenced by the renowned painter aunts Gloria and Kathleen Petyerre, established artists in Alice Springs.

About the artwork

In Aboriginal Dreamtime narratives, emus are frequently depicted as potent and influential entities. They are perceived as creator spirits, overseeing the land and even affecting the seasons. A well-known narrative, "Emu in the Sky," utilises the emu as a constellation, with its shape and position in the Milky Way serving as indicators of the time of year and weather patterns. 

The emu can also be regarded as a creator spirit, observing the land and impacting its natural cycles. In certain narratives, the emu is linked to the Milky Way, implying a connection to the cosmos and the wider universe.

Emus are intimately connected with the land and its resources, reflecting the profound relationship between Aboriginal peoples and their environment. Dreamtime stories frequently depict emus traversing the desert in search of water and food, underscoring the challenges and rewards of navigating the Australian landscape.