Description
Polly Ngale was born 1925 and was part of the original group of women who taught batik at Utopia in the 1970s before painting with acrylic paints on canvas. She often worked with the late Emily Kame Kngwarreye, having shared the same country. Polly is a senior custodian of the Bush Plum Dreaming along with her sisters, well-known artists Kathleen Ngale and Angeline Pwerle Ngale.
Her artwork is built up in layers, mostly from reds, oranges and yellows, reflecting the beauty of the season.
Currently amongst the most senior custodians of her country Arparra, in the heart of Utopia, 250 kms North East of Alice Springs, Poly Ngal shares with her sisters, Kathleen Ngal, and Angelina responsibility as keepers of its cultural knowledge. Now in her seventies, she belongs to the oldest living generation of Utopia women and ranks amongst the most accomplished painters who have worked there during the past 20 years. Like many others including Emily Kame Kngawarrye and Gloria Petyarre, Poly began her career in late 1979 creating images in Batik, prior to the introduction of painting on canvas in the late 1980s. Read more about Polly Ngale at our Top 200 Australian Artists profile page