Doris Darinji Bush Nangarrayi Austrlian, Luritja, b. c. 1942
Doris Bush Nungarrayi was born circa 1942 at Haasts Bluff. Her father, who was Warlpiri, came in to the ration depot from his country west of Nyrripi and around Kintore after the birth of Doris's eldest brother Wirri Tjungurrayi. Her mother, Yalkutjari Nakamarra was a Pintupi woman from the Kintore region whose father was Boss, or Senior Law Holder for the Kintore region, where he is buried.
Doris is a contraction of Dorothy - she is also known by her Aboriginal name, Darinji. She had a younger sister also called Dorothy (born 1952) whose Aboriginal name was Danisa. Doris grew up at Haasts Bluff where she met and married George Bush Tjangala, a Luritja/Anmatyerr speaking man whose family came from just west of Alice Springs. Together they had three sons: Kenny, Christopher and Simon. Doris has six grandchildren: granddaughters Stephanie, Benita, Verina and Chelsea-Anne, and grandsons Gavin and Joshua. George Bush was one of the original shareholders of Papunya Tula Artists, although he only painted for a brief period for the company in the early 1980s. In the mid 1980s the family went to live on an outstation at Nuyumanu in Doris's mother's country out towards the WA/NT border. Later the couple divided their time between Papunya and Alice Springs, where George painted for the Centre for Aboriginal Artists and Craftsmen, commonly called the Government Gallery in Alice Springs. Doris's only surviving sibling, her brother Willy Nakanbala, lives in Papunya.
After her husband's death in 1997, Doris spent increasing amounts of time in Papunya. Doris was a familiar figure in some of the Aboriginal art galleries of Alice Springs, asking for canvas and paints, although she received no encouragement. After Papunya Tjupi Arts was established in Papunya in late 2007, Doris quickly became one of the most prolific and enthusiastic painters in the community and is usually the first to arrive each morning when - or even before - the doors open. In March/April 2012 she had her own solo exhibition at Damien Minton Gallery in Redfern Sydney, the first artist to do so under the auspices of Papunya Tjupi.
Doris encourages the entire art centre cohort with her expressive joyful storytelling; her life is consumed by her obsession for paint and stories. As Doris often visits Alice Springs to spend time with her eldest son who lives in one of the Town Camps, Doris has been a visiting artist at Tangentyere Artists since 2017, occasionally painting here when visiting with family. Tangentyere Artists and Papunya Tjupi Artists have a good working relationship, with several artists from each art centre being family.