Kathy Maringka
Kathy Maringka’s signature work is the very beautiful and evocative, Desert Wildflowers—‘Tjulpun-tjulpunpa’. She was exhibited in Houston in the US last year and in selected galleries in Australia across three group exhibitions in 2012. Kathy is cited in the 2009 publication by Dr. Diana James, ‘Painting the Song: Kaltjiti Artists of the Sand Dune Country’. Her work has been included in the Peter Bailie Art Award and appears in Public Service Commission Collections.
Kathy Maringka was born in 1954 near Ernabella in South Australia while her father comes from the Uluru Region. She initially worked as a cultural tour guide at Uluru and after marrying (she has five children), she learnt to sew, spin wool and make rugs at the art centre in Ernabella.
Kathy and her family moved to Fregon in South Australia in the 1970s when it was still a mission outstation. In the craft room, Kathy learnt batik techniques and painting with acrylics on canvas. She is now a senior artist at the Kaltjiti Art Centre in Fregon, where it is said that her commitment to her art is strong now that she has entered a new phase of her career and is able to paint full time. Kaltjiti Arts is a community based, Aboriginal art centre on the freehold Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY ) Lands. The organisation is incorporated and strives to enable artistic excellence, cultural maintenance and to promote economic sustainability through the arts.
The art centre is the heart of the small community where inspiration and dynamism provide a cultural focal point for the area. Artists work in the mediums of paint, prints on paper, fibre weaving, wood carving and Inma (dance and performance). Elder artists share cultural traditions and stories with younger generations. The artistic styles in the community are varied and explore many different expressions of mark making that translate and are inspired by the surrounding sand dune and wildflower landscape which is rich with colour, form, and embedded with ancient stories of the region. In recent times, the curators at the centre have been encouraging the artists to recount their personal life stories which has led to the creation of very interesting and historically important artworks.
The artwork below was featured in the Indigenous Law Bulletin September/October, 2012 Volume 8 Issue 4.
Images and information are provided by Kaltjiti Arts. Thanks go to Tali Gallery for liaising with Kaltjiti Arts for Kathy’s images to appear in the ILB. Tali Gallery is one of the galleries which proudly works with Kaltjiti Arts to promote their artists in Sydney.
