Mala Nari (Matosi) Papua New Guinean, b. 1958

Mala's mother was Waganami Togarino of Gora village (Saro'ore clan) and her father was A'oji Negunna of Godibehi village (Ematé clan). Mala has three childer. Her husband, now passed, was Elo Nari. Mala was taught to paint Ömie designs by her grandmother and remembers watching her at Kërö village (an old village of Gora) as a young girl. Mala loved to sit with her grandmother and learn about Ömie history, the natural environment and how to nurture the land. Mala's main designs are: tuböru unö'e - eggs of the Dwarf Cassowary; dahoru'e - Ömie mountains; munë'e/hitai - river boulders; buboriano'e - beaks of the Papuan Hornbilll; and odunaigö'e - jungle vines. From 10996 to 2002, before the arrival of David Baker and the formation of the Ömie Artists cooperative, Mala was instrumental in bringing about a revitalisaiton of barkcloth painting in Jiapa and Duharenu villages. She is a very strong culture woman and is well known acroom Ömie territory for her powerful singing voice. Her work was exhibited in the 17th Niennale of Sydney at the Museum of Contemporary Art and in the landmark exhibition of Ömie art Wisdom of the Mountain: Art of the Ömie at the National Gallery of Victoria International.