Maria Nampijinpa Brown was born in 1973 at Alice Springs Hospital, the closest hospital to Yuendumu, an isolated Aboriginal community located 290 km from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia.

She is the daughter of Wendy Nungarrayi Brown and the granddaughter of Paddy Japaljarri Sims, one of the founding artists of Warlukurlangu Artists, and Bessie Nakamarra Sims (Dec), a successful artist in her own right.

She depicts the Dreaming of the “Flying Ant.” These insects live in giant ant nests (Mingkirri), which become submerged during the rainy season. It is then that the ants’ wings grow, allowing them to fly with their queen to other areas where they can establish new nests. Once they have found a new habitat, their wings fall off. These ants are eaten by monitor lizards and other reptiles, as well as by Aboriginal women, who highly value them for their sweet taste.