Kirsty Burgu Australian, Worrora, Ngarinyin, b. 1972

Kirsty is the youngest daughter of Roger Burgu (Dec), a well known Ngarinyin elder and painter. Kirsty was born at Mowanjum near Derby, and has lived most of her life there, except for me spent in study. She is a deep thinking artist who always endeavours to pass on a message to her audience. Kirsty remains engaged in the traditional stories told to her by her mother and father, and Uncle Jeffrey Burgu as a child. Kirsty says; 'I really like pain ng. Pain ng is how I share all the stories that I have been told with the young ones. I remember when I was small, the electricity went out early. We would fall asleep around the fire, we didn't have TV for entertainment. My dad would say; 'come I'll tell you story now,' so me and my brother would go and sit in his arms and listen un l we fell asleep. The paintings I do now have the stories that Dad mob told me. There are so many stories and they all have so much to teach us about life.' Kirsty is one of a new generation of painters at Mowanjum who interpret the old stories in new ways. Mowanjum Wandjina culture is a living culture and Kirsty uses a wide range of traditional and contemporary materials including; ochre on bark, ochre and acrylic on canvas, ink on paper and woodcut printing.