Kathleen Ngal
Artist Statement
As senior custodians, sisters Kathleen and Poly Ngal share a great responsibility as keepers of cultural knowledge for their country Arlparra, located in the heart of Utopia, 250 kms North East of Alice Springs. In her seventies, Kathleen belongs to the oldest living generation of Utopia and is among the most accomplished painters who have worked at Utopia during the past 20 years. Kathleen Ngal began her career in late 1979, involved in the production of Batiks, made by artists in Utopia prior to the introduction of painting on canvas in the mid to late 1980s.
Kathleen Ngal’s work is a sophisticated play between the cultural knowledge of her country and the contemporary expression formed through the medium of acrylic paint. Thousands of dots of colour are rained across her canvas denoting flora and the geographical and sacred sites of the Bush Plum. She is well known for the way in which she depicts the white flowers of the Bush Plum over a shimmering background of colour, often featuring blues, purples and reds. On a more culturally complex level, Kathleen’s painting are like a map of her country, showing where the bush plum can be found and the women’s ceremonial sites associated with the Bush Plum.
In 2000 and 2008 Kathleen Ngal was exhibited as a finalist in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award at the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin and has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1999.
Kathleen Ngal lives at Camel Camp in the Utopia region and she is married to Motorbike Paddy, who is the traditional owner of the country where Camel Camp is located. Her sisters, Poly, Topsy and Angelina are all painters, as well as her daughter Elizabeth Mpetyan.
Kathleen Ngal’s work is a sophisticated play between the cultural knowledge of her country and the contemporary expression formed through the medium of acrylic paint. Thousands of dots of colour are rained across her canvas denoting flora and the geographical and sacred sites of the Bush Plum. She is well known for the way in which she depicts the white flowers of the Bush Plum over a shimmering background of colour, often featuring blues, purples and reds. On a more culturally complex level, Kathleen’s painting are like a map of her country, showing where the bush plum can be found and the women’s ceremonial sites associated with the Bush Plum.
In 2000 and 2008 Kathleen Ngal was exhibited as a finalist in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award at the Museum and Art Gallery of Northern Territory, Darwin and has been exhibiting nationally and internationally since 1999.
Kathleen Ngal lives at Camel Camp in the Utopia region and she is married to Motorbike Paddy, who is the traditional owner of the country where Camel Camp is located. Her sisters, Poly, Topsy and Angelina are all painters, as well as her daughter Elizabeth Mpetyan.