Phyllis Ningamara (Binjalk) Australian, Miriwoong, 1944-2018

Phyllis Ningarmara's imagery interprets country through a kaleidoscope of colour revealing her talent as an exceptional colourist working within the boundaries of traditional natural materials. Her palette of bright ochres mixed carefully from pigments altered by burning and juxtaposition capture a country sometimes flooding with wet season rains, sometimes as expanses of stony riverbeds. Bush foods interpreted through colour hint at deliciousness. Creeks, rivers, and freshwater springs overflow multiplying their meander until a patch worked country, criss-crossed with watercourses. The coloured stones called "Gerany" that represent the stretchesof stone country along the river flats move and shift with colour accents across the canvas. Phyllis was born on Ivanhoe Station and raised on Kimberley cattle stations where her parents worked. She began painting late in life after raising a family reinterpreting the cultural lessons ofher childhood taught by her father. Phyllis was a highly respected senior Miriwoong woman and cultural leader. Sadly,she passed away in 2018.