Estelle Munkanome was born on Bathurst Island in 1960. She has been working with Ngaruwanajirri since 1996. Ngaruwanajirri is a Tiwi word meaning "helping one another". The centre has been in operation in Nguiu, Bathurst Islands, since August 1994 and the supports around 16 Tiwi Artists. Members of Ngaruwanajirri create traditonal and cotemporary arts and crafts. Works from Ngaruwanajirri have been selected for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Awards, travelled in touring exhibitions troughout Australia and have become part of public and private collections in Australia and overseas. Estelle's early works with natural ochres were very delicate. More recent paintings have become bolder in line and colour and dot. The structure and ideas in Estelle`s paintings are often reflected in her batiks on silk, where she uses Naphtol dyes and Drimarine K dyes.