Joe Jangala Long was born in the Tanami Desert. Most of his early life was spent in this country with his family before the Native Affairs Branch of the Federal Government established two settlements for Warlpiri people ? Yuendumu in 1946 and Lajamanu (originally called Hooker Creek) in 1949.
In 1983 Joe Jangala was one of 12 Warlpiri male leaders from Lajamanu who travelled to Paris to make a ground painting for the exhibition D'un autre continent: l'Australie le R?ve et le R?el, ARC, Mus?e d'art moderne.
He painted a number of works in 1986 when a traditional painting course was set up in Lajamanu at the Adult Education Centre but has since moved back to his homelands near the Tanami mine. His painting subjects include ngapa (water) and warna (snake). His work was exhibited in Mythscapes: Aboriginal Art of the Desert, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 1989.
