Linda was born in Mimili Community on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands in the far northwest of South Australia. Her parents are Puna Yanima and Shannon Kantji.
Linda Puna (*1974) is a Yankunytjatjara artist living in the remote community of Mimili on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands.
Linda spent her formative years on her homeland around Park Well. Sharing a house with her cousins, sisters and parents, Linda grew up surrounded by skilled artisans and storytellers, learning about the stories that inform her paintings today by watching and listing to the women in her family carve punu (wooden sculptures). The men in Linda’s family were working as stockmen on the surrounding stations at the time, an experience that continues to imbue her love for loud country music, cowboys, and storytelling.
As one of the founding members of Mimili Maku Arts, Linda began bringing her stories to the canvas in 2006. Her paintings often combine Tjukurpa and figurative depictions of everyday community life.
As the first Anangu woman to live in a remote community whilst being dependent on an electric wheelchair, Linda shares a unique perspective on life in her artwork – full of joy, resilience, and strength. She continues to be an important and outspoken advocate for disability rights on the APY Lands.
Linda often depicts elements of the rocky desert country surrounding Mimili, referencing the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Her paintings combine these songlines with more figurative depictions of day-to-day objects such as Toyota 4WD vehicles, houses, cardboard boxes, windmills and water tanks. Linda uses bold brush strokes and strong colours to bring to life the reality of remote community life in a fearlessly honest and playful way.
Linda has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, and was a finalist in the 2020 National Works on Paper Prize at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery. In 2022 she is celebrating her fashion debut as part of a collaboration with ethical fashion label Unreal Fur.
Linda began bringing the stories she learnt from the women in her family to the canvas in 2006. Her paintings often combine Tjukurpa and figurative depictions of everyday community life.
As the first Anangu woman to live in a remote community whilst being dependent on an electric wheelchair, Linda shares a unique perspective on life – full of joy, resilience and strengths – in her artwork. She often depicts elements of the rocky desert country surrounding Mimili, referencing the Maku (witchetty grub) Tjukurpa. Her paintings often combine these abstract concepts with more figurative depictions of day-to-day objects such as Toyota 4WD vehicles, houses, cardboard boxes, windmills and water tanks. Linda uses bold brush strokes and strong colours to bring to life the reality of remote community life in a fearlessly honest and playful way.