Bonnie was born in Illurpa, a place near Blackstone in the Ngaanyatjarra lands. When she was young her mother took her to Ernabella, later they moved to Angus Downs and then Mutitjulu.
Bonnie' s father passed away in Alintjarra. She has a lot of family in Warakurna and in Blackstone. Bonnie's father's country is Blackstone. Bonnie has six children, four boys and two girls.
Bonnie is now an elderly grandmother and strong cultural woman. She has been painting for many years and has passed her knowledge and skills down to her daughters, Dianne and Marlene, who now paint for Kaltukatjara Art.
Minyma Kutjara - Bonnieku
Bonnie uses a dry brush to apply colour in travelling formations across the canvas, evoking the textured desert landscape where she has spent her life. Bonnie was born near Blackstone in Western Australia and has spent time travelling widely across the remote Ngaanyatjarra lands. Her paintings draw heavily on her strong cultural history, geographic knowledge, and extensive network of familial relations, which snake throughout the desert.
This story is called Kungka Kutjara, or Two Sisters. It tells the story of two sisters travelling through the desert. As they travelled, their actions created landmarks such as rock holes and mountain ranges, forging a record of their travels across the land. Bonnie depicts these women at a place close to Kaltukatjara, where they travelled through a gap in the mountains. She has passed this story onto her daughter Marlene Connelly, who is also a prolific painter. Bonnie loves to paint this story, remembering the travels of the two ladies.
