Queenie McKenzie

Queenie McKenzie , also known as Queenie McKenzie Nakarra , (* 1930 in the Old Texas Station on the western Ord River in the eastern Kimberley ; † November 1998 ) was the first known and recognized Aboriginal painter from the East Kimberley School in Australia.

Life

Her mother Old Dinah was an Aborigine the Malngin and Gurindji ; her father was a horse rider. Being familiar with the Giya - tribe of Aborigines was growing up, Giya was their first language. Her father wanted to give her away as a baby, but her mother refused. When the Old Texas Station where she lived was destroyed by a flood, she came to New Texas Downs Station , which is on the Turkey River . The police tried to remove her from her family there several times, but her mother always knew how to prevent this. There Queenie made friends with the painter Rover Thomas , whom she saved in an accident, and whom she later married. She had no children, but is said to have always looked after other children who, left alone, threatened to neglect. She was the drovers' cook for the New Texas Downs for forty years before moving to the Warmun Community in 1973, where she saw artists paint and decided to do it herself.

She was considered a strong personality, a preserver and teacher of the Giya language, and she was committed to the return of the land to the Aborigines. She lived her life according to the ceremonies dictated by Aboriginal traditions.

plant

Queenie became the first woman known for the Eastern Kimberley painting school. She was inspired by Rover Thomas. She used natural pigments in different colors that were ground by herself. Her pictures have always been linked to the landscape of the Kimberley and painted on a monochrome underground. It also showed events, traditional and current stories, which were underlaid with mythological information. She liked to use simple and clear forms for this. Queenie McKenzie's pictures reflect the struggle over the law and culture of the Eastern Kimberley.

In the 1980s she was particularly committed to passing on her cultural and technical knowledge to women and adolescent painters. She was instrumental in ensuring that the Art Center for Gija Artists could be established in the Warmun community until 1988. Her appreciation can also be seen from the fact that she had several nicknames: Mingmarriya (German: Kalksteinland ), because of her light skin, and Garagarag, because of her blonde hair.

A few months after her death, she was awarded the title "Living Treasure" for her life and work.

See also

• Aboriginal art

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.japingka.com.au/artist-profiles.cfm?artistID=19
2. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Aboriginal Art Prints: Portrait of Queenie McKenzie ( Memento of the original from September 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Government website about Queenie McKenzie ( Memento of the original from March 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.