Kumantje Jagamara (the name preferred by his family[1]) was born at Pikilyi, aka Vaughan Springs, Northern Territory (about 105 kilometres (65 mi) west of Yuendumu[2]), around 1946.
[6][7] He left school after initiation and spent some time working jobs such as pig shooting, driving trucks and droving cattle.
He spent time in the Australian Army[7] before coming back to Yuendumu and then moving to Papunya in 1976 (after the death of his father) to settle and marry[6] Marjorie Napaltjarri.
The mosaic shows "a gathering of a large group of people from the kangaroo, wallaby and goanna ancestors [who] are meeting to talk and to enact ceremonial obligations.
[3] In 2012, he was appointed by the NT Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority as one of a group of five people to determine which of the early Papunya boards held by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) should be selected for public display.
[5] His work and his life, Jagamara "held true to his jukurrpa", which involved the Warlpiri interconnected cultural knowledge system and its law, with especial connection to place.
Pikilyi is an important sacred site for ceremonies, at the junction of a number of different Dreamings, which are represented in his art work, including Possum, Snake, Two Kangaroos, Flying Ant and Yam.
[16][17][5] He was introduced to Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 at the opening of the New Parliament House, as the designer of the 196-square-metre (2,110 sq ft) mosaic in the forecourt of the building.
[19] Jagamara travelled to New York City with Billy Stockman Japaltjarri for the opening of the show,[6] which was the start of his gaining an international audience.
[22][23] Jagamara died in November 2020, with his funeral in Alice Springs on 14 March 2021 attended by hundreds, including his longtime friend Vivien Johnson.