Kenny Williams Tjampitjinpa was born around 1950 in Iliya, not far from present-day Kiwirkurra. Kenny is the eldest son of Naata Nungurrayi and her first husband Pilamartitja Tjangala (circa 1917-1961), who died of thirst out in the desert two years before their group’s first encounter with white men. As a boy, Kenny traveled throughout the desert with his family until they came across Jeremy Long's Welfare Branch Patrol in 1963. In 1964 the next patrol brought them to Papunya. Sandy Nim Nim, as Kenny was nicknamed during his boyhood, stayed in Papunya for a long time until Kintore was founded in the early eighties and he returned towards his homeland.
He married a daughter of Walangkura Reid Napurrula and together with his brother-in-law Ronnie Tjampitjinpa he lived at Redbank (Ininti) outstation west of Kintore for a while. This was eventually abandoned, however, due to lack of water. In May 1988 Kenny began painting his Dreamings for Papunya Tula Artists around Kiwirrkurra, aided by Ronnie Tjampitjinpa. Kenny also lived in Wiluna for a while before returning to Kintore and focusing further on his painting. Kenny’s principal ‘homestead’ site is Walawala near Kiwirrkurra.
As mentioned previously, Kenny was married to Mantua Napangati and lived with her in Kintore until she was forced to move to Alice Springs for dialysis. Kenny stayed in Kintore and in 2003 remarried Eileen Napaltjarri, the daughter of Charlie Tarawa, she also paints for Papunya Tula Artists.
Kenny's main Dreamings tell stories about the python and Ngamanpura, a swamp west of Kintore where a black berry with the same name can be found in good seasons. The land of his father, Yirrukurlu, is located south of the Pollock Hills.
For a few years, Kenny was the chairman of Papunya Tula Artists and in 2000 won the prestigious Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award. Kenny Williams is a perfectionist when it comes to painting. He works slowly and very carefully on his paintings. His work can be distinguished by a fine line play of careful zig-zag-patterns, executed in subtle earth tones. The whole often has a hypnotic effect. Like the old masters from Papunya, Kenny treats his brushes and paint with great pride and reverence.