Mavis Ngallametta

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mavis Ngallametta
Born(1944-08-10)August 10, 1944
DiedJanuary 28, 2019(2019-01-28) (aged 74)
Known forPainting, Weaving
MovementAustralian Indigenous Art
Mavis Ngallametta exhibition Show Me the Way to Go Home at Queensland Art Gallery, July 2020

Mavis Ngallametta (also known as Waal-Waal Ngallametta),[1] née Marbunt,[2] was an Indigenous Australian painter and weaver. She was a Putch clan elder and a cultural leader of the Wik and Kugu people of Aurukun, Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland.[3] Her work is held in national and state collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane.[4][5]

Early life and education[edit]

Ngallametta was removed from her family at the age of five and grew up in the dormitories of Aurukun Mission.[6] She maintained connections with her family, learning to weave dilly bags and fruit bowls, made from cabbage palm and pandanus, from her mother and aunty.

Career[edit]

Mavis Ngallametta was initially recognised for her mastery of weaving in traditional materials. While attending a workshop at the Wik and Kugu Art Centre, run by Gina Allain, she began making small paintings depicting important cultural sites.[2] Larger paintings refer to the changing seasons as well as specific sites including Ikalath, where she collected the white clay Yalgamungken, for the vibrant local ochres; her traditional country, the coastal side of Kendall River, which she was able to view from the air; Wutan, a camping site belonging to her adopted son Edgar; and various pamp, or swamps, around Aurukun.[7] Ngallametta painted with traditional materials, including ochres, clays and charcoal, which she collected herself.[2] Between 2011 and 2019, she created 46 monumental paintings.[8] According to Sally Butler: "nearly every major public and private art collection in Australia" acquired one of these large-scale paintings between 2011 and 2014.

Work[edit]

Major exhibitions[edit]

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art is hosting the first major retrospective of Ngallametta's work in 21 March – 2 August 2020.[1]

Public and private collections[8][edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

  • 2004 Community Arts Achievement Award, Western Cape College, Weipa, Queensland[8][2]
  • 2013 Telstra General Painting Award

Australia Council for the Arts[edit]

The Australia Council for the Arts is the arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. Since 1993, it has awarded a Red Ochre Award. It is presented to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2018[18] herself Red Ochre Award Awarded

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Mavis Ngallametta Archives". Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Waal-Waal Ngallametta". Warren Entsch MP. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Vale: Mrs Waal-Waal Ngallametta". QAGOMA. 9 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Waal-Waal Ngallametta". NGA. 9 March 2019.
  5. ^ "Mrs Waal Waal Ngallametta". QAGOMA.
  6. ^ "Mavis Ngallametta A Shift in Perspective". Art Collector. 9 January 2019.
  7. ^ "Vale: Mrs Waal-Waal Ngallametta". Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art Blog. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b c "Martin Browne Contemporary | Mrs Waal-Waal Ngallametta CV". www.martinbrownecontemporary.com. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  9. ^ Ngallametta, Mavis. "Ghost net basket". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  10. ^ Ngallametta, Mavis. "Yalgamulchen #2". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. ^ Ngallametta, Mavis. "Lid for Ghost net basket". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  12. ^ Ngallametta, Mavis. "The Road to Pawpaw Behind Swampy Area". Item held by National Gallery of Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  13. ^ "Works by "Mavis Ngallametta" :: The Collection :: Art Gallery NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  14. ^ "AGSA: Waal Waal Ngallametta". AGSA – The Art Gallery of South Australia. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  15. ^ Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (27 April 2020). "Explore the work of Mavis Ngallametta". QAGOMA Blog. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  16. ^ "New 2009: Selected recent acquisitions". art-museum.uq.edu.au. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and History". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Dr Ken Thaiday Senior". Australia Council. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.

Further reading[edit]

  • Aurukun Artists: Yuk Wiy Min (Wood and Other Things), Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane, 2009 [ex. cat.]
  • Aurukun Artists: Wiy min yumpan ngamp (We made all this), Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane, 2008 [ex. cat.]
  • Butler, Sally (ed) Before Time today, Reinventing Tradition in Aurukun Aboriginal Art, 2010, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia.
  • Demozay, Marion. Gatherings II, 2006, Keeaira Press, Southport.
  • Albert, Tony, "New creation in Aurukun Ceremonial Art", in Blak On Blak, Artlink, 2010, Volume 30.1.
  • Parkes, Brian (editor). Woven Forms: Contemporary basket making in Australia, Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design, Surry Hills, NSW, 2005 [ex. cat.]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mavis_Ngallametta&oldid=1177374943"