Art From Australia
"Grandmother Country" By Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi
"Grandmother Country" By Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi
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Artist: Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi
Size (H x W): 60 x 80 cm
This painting represents the sacred Country of Gabriella and Michelle’s grandmother in Laramba, on Anmatyerre land in the Northern Territory. This dreaming was passed down to them through their mother and grandmother and holds deep cultural significance. The story honours the matriarchal line and the women who travelled, gathered bush foods, held ceremonies, and lived in balance with the land.
Symbols in the painting show ceremonial sites, women’s gathering places, bush foods, waterholes, and ancestral tracks, seen from a bird’s eye view. The U-shapes represent women seated in ceremony, the concentric circles depict places of gathering or abundance, and dots or star-like shapes mark bush plums and berries.
Gabriella and Michelle learned these stories directly from their father, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, and they continue to honour their grandmother’s Country through painting. Each work keeps the stories alive and passes on knowledge and culture to future generations.
About the Artist – Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi
Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi is one of Australia’s most celebrated First Nations artists. Her work is widely recognised for its cultural significance, deep storytelling, and strong connection to Anmatyerre Country.
Gabriella was born at Mount Allan near Alice Springs and is the daughter of the legendary artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and Emily Nakamarra Possum, a respected Luritja woman. Gabriella began painting alongside her father as a young girl, inheriting his visual language while developing her own distinctive and powerful style.
Her artworks share women’s stories of Dreaming and Ceremony, using traditional symbols to represent sacred sites, waterholes, plants, animals, footsteps, and ancestral journeys. These stories are passed down through generations and painted with deep respect for law, lore, and land.
Gabriella is best known for her Seven Sisters Dreaming paintings, which have been exhibited internationally and even projected onto the Sydney Opera House as part of the Vivid Festival. Her work has also been featured in galleries across Australia, the UK, and the USA.
Today, Gabriella lives and paints in Melbourne, surrounded by her sister and extended family, continuing a powerful legacy of culture, connection, and creativity.
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