Colleen Wallace NUNGARI
Ladies ceremony
Ladies ceremony
Colleen Wallace Nungari (born 1974) is a self-taught Eastern Arrernte (Aranda) artist from a family of painters, including her mother, Therese Wallace, and her aunt, Gabriella Wallace. She was born in Santa Teresa and raised in Alice Springs by her stepmother, Kathleen Wallace, while her father’s country is near Gem Tree, northeast of Alice Springs.
Her acrylic paintings belong to the contemporary Aboriginal art tradition and depict Dreamtime stories. Her work combines traditional motifs with more figurative elements, representing spirits and ceremonies as figures.
She paints the Dreaming Sisters, protective spirits who dance the Awelye (women’s ceremony), as well as the Arlatyeye (Bush Yam Dreaming).