Polly NGALE - Emu Seed and Bush Plum Country

ADG: 6420

Emu Seed and Bush Plum Country - Story of Painting

Polly Ngale and her sisters, Kathleen,Maggie and Angeline Ngale are the senior custodians of the Bush Plum Dreaming stories. Their paintings are vibrant, with an exuberant use of colourful dots, to portray the Bush Plum Seeds and landscape. Many of Polly's paintings depict the bush plum with its bright yellow seeds, in its various stages of ripening. Yam seeds are abundant at Alhalkere, and form a valuable addition to the emus diet.

Polly NGALE

Born c.1936-

Language Anmatyerre

Location Utopia Northern Territory

Country Alhalpere – Boundary Bore – Camel Camp

Stories Anwekety (Bush Plum – Conkerberry), Awelye (Women’s Ceremony)

Polly started her career in the 1980s with the making of silk batik before venturing into painting in the late 1980s.

Polly Ngale and her sisters, Kathleen and Maggie Ngale and Angeline Ngale are the senior custodians of the Bush Plum Dreaming stories. Their paintings are vibrant, with an exuberant use of colourful dots, to portray the Bush Plum Seeds and landscape. Many of Polly's paintings depict the bush plum with its bright yellow seeds, in its various stages of ripening. She also paints the topography of the land in varying shades of red, orange and yellow, to reflect the changing colours of the seasons.

Exhibitions

1993 Central Australian Aboriginal Art and Craft Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT

1988 Aboriginal Dot Painting, Melbourne, VIC

1989 Utopia Women's Paintings: the First Works on Canvas, A Summer Project, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney, NSW

1990 Utopia: A Picture Story, an exhibition of 88 works on silk from the Holmes a Court Collection by Utopia artists which toured Eire and Scotland

1992 ‘Modern Art – Ancient Icon’, World Bank, Washington

2000 Arts d’Australie, Stephane Jacob/Espace Mezzo, Avenue des Champs- Elysees, Paris.

2002 Two Sisters, Kathleen and Polly Ngale, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, VIC

2003 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT

2006 Cicada Trading, Paris, Bahrain, Milan, Dubai, Houston

Achievements

2000 Arts d' Australie, Stephane Jacob/Espace Mezzo - Avenue des Champs-Elysees, Paris

2003 Finalist. Honourable Mention. 20th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT

Collections

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

Holmes a Court Collection, Perth

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

The World Bank, Washington USA

Ranking - Most Important Aboriginal Artists

2011 Rank amongst Living Artists: 91