Cirrus@Austlit

In 1990 Judy Watson who is a descendant of the Waanyi clan was able to fulfil her life-long dream of researching her Aboriginal heritage by travelling to her grandmother's country in north-west Queensland. Watson grew up in Brisbane and attended the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education in Toowoomba where she gained a Diploma of Creative Arts in 1979.

After moving to Hobart in 1980 she graduated from the University of Tasmania in 1982. Watson has also lectured at the Townsville College of TAFE and at the Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education. She has exhibited her artwork both nationally and internationally. In 2006 two of her works were permanently installed within the archetectural fabric of the Musee du quai Branly in Paris. Watson has also been a recipient of several contemporary art awards including the Moet and Chandon Fellowship in 1995 and the National Gallery of Victoria's Clemenger Award in 2006.

In 2024, the Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art published mudunama kundana wandaraba jarribirri, the first Australian state gallery monograph published on her work.