05/09/2026
Mavis Ngallametta's painting, The Mouth of Kendall River 2, depicts the pristine region surrounding the mouth of the Kendall River, south of Aurukun, of which the artist was a traditional owner. Using materials sourced from Country, Ngallametta captures the region’s distinctive cliff formations and the striking meeting points between the deep red hues of the bauxiterich soil and bands of contrasting white clay. The artist often combined multiple perspectives, weaving together macro and micro views of the coastal wetlands developed through her intimate knowledge of the area.
'This is Kendall River, my Country, my homeland…Looking from north to south, you can see the area called Pundum. Pundum means people jabbering together. This is where people from further south used to gather—people from the Holroyd River, Christmas Creek and Breakfast Creek met here on their way to the large camp at Kutchendoopen… You can see this place when flying over in a helicopter or plane.'
— Mavis Ngallametta
See Mavis's works in Brush: Women Painters, which runs until 4 Oct 2026 in the Cairns Art Gallery Public Curators Building. An open-edition print of this work is also available in the Gallery Shop 😍
📷 Mavis NGALLAMETTA, Kugu-Uwanh, 1944–2019, The Mouth of the Kendall River 2 2025, ochres and charcoal with synthetic polymer paint binder on canvas, 271 x 200cm, Cairns Art Gallery Collection. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program by Mavis Ngallametta, 2018
https://www.cairnsartgallery.com.au/whats-on/exhibitions/brush?utm_name=sked&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_content=sked_6a913491eaf7644f9e42e812
