Biography

Rosella Namok is an Aboriginal painter from Lockhart River, a tropical region in North Queensland. The daughter of the famous painter Rosella Namok, she is a member of the Lockhart River Art Gang. As a young girl, she became familiar with traditional arts in a ceremonial context. Her grandmother taught her sand drawing techniques, while her father taught her body painting. She forged her style from these two practices. The way she digs and scratches the canvas also comes from body paints applied in thick layers and then stretched over the whole body with her fingers. As is often the case in Aboriginal painting, Rosella Namok represents her Territory and, in the background, the myths that took place there. Her work is also distinguished by her interest in climatic variations and their effects on the environment.

Today, Rosella Namok enjoys an international reputation among collectors and museum professionals alike. Her work also inspires other artists, such as 2013 director Mark Morris, who chose two of her canvases as the backdrop for the Houston Ballet's "Rite of Spring" (Stravinsky). Public collections: Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney / Art Gallery of New South Wales / Art Gallery of South Australia / Art Gallery of Western Australia / Kluge-Ruhe Museum, University of Virginia, USA / National Gallery of Australia, Canberra / National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne / Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, etc.