Phyllis Ningarmara Miriwoong, b. 6/12/1944
23 5/8 x 23 5/8 in
Phyllis Ningarmara’s imagery interprets country through a kaleidescope of colour revealing her touch 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 juxtoposition capture a country sometimes flooding with wet season rains, sometimes as expanses of stony river beds. Bush foods interpreted through colour hint at deliciousness. Creeks, rivers and freshwater springs overflow mulitplying their meander until a patchworked country is criss-crossed with watercourses. The coloured stones called “Gerany” that represent the stretches of 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 of her childhood taught by her father. Phyllis is a highly respected senior Miriwoong woman and cultural leader.