Nellie Gordon was born c 1934 on the banks of Sturt Creek on the Northern edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Nellie spent her childhood in Guru country south of Halls Creek. Much of her working life was spent working as a station cook and housekeeper on pastoral stations in the East Kimberley. In the mid 70s the introduction of the equal rights bill for the Aboriginal workforce meant that many employees were forced off stations into town settlements such as Halls Creek. Nellie lived here for some time before moving to the Kununurra area with her husband George Wallaby, where they both began to paint full time.

During her earlier years Nellie lived a traditional life and practised ceremony regularly. Even during her years as a station employee, there was opportunity to practice Law and ceremony during the ‘lay off’ or wet season and in later years, Nellie took every opportunity to attend cultural ceremonies organised by various Indigenous groups across the Kimberley.

This work, Parnany Rijikarrinyu - Old Women Ceremony, is one of a series of works painted to record and remember the role of women in traditional ceremony. The semi circular shapes in the work represent the breasts of women painted for

ceremony. The larger shapes are those breasts of older women, Parnany, and the smaller shapes those of young girls, Wamala. The women used white or yellow ochre mixed with fat as paint and each group of women used a particular design. This design was consistent throughout the group and was like a signature indicating the country you belong to and the dreaming of that country.