He was born in South East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia in the Limmen Bight area, 45 kilometers inland from the Gulf of Carpentaria coast.
[7] The landscape of Ginger Riley's mother country includes coastal saltwater that enters the Limmen Bight River, passes through mudflats and Marra territory, and finally reaches the ravine in the middle of the Four Archers – Gurrialadagauwulu.
Despite taking a Western perspective in his landscapes, his art still draws on spiritual traditions and places emphasis on the intimate relationship his people have with the country that surrounds them.
[7] The National Gallery of Victoria held a 10-year retrospective of his work in 1997, titled Mother Country in Mind: The Art of Ginger Riley Munduwalawala.
[15][6] Ginger Riley was born c.1936 in Marra Country, in South-Eastern Arnhem Land near Ngukurr, the former territory of the Roper River Mission.
[16] Riley held a number of jobs before his painting career including his work as a police warden at Larrimah, a school groundsman in Darwin, a general maintenance worker for the Numbulwar Council and as a cleaner for Gemco mines at Groot Eylandt.
[7] During his time as a stockman, Riley met the renowned Western Aranda watercolorist, Albert Namatjira,[4] whose art was among the first to be exhibited by an Aboriginal.
[19][10] The artists working alongside Ginger Riley in Ngukurr reflected the diversity of the region traced back to the establishment of the Roper River Mission in 1908.
[9] The significant historical migration to the Roper River Mission played a pivotal role in shaping the unique style and thematic focus of art from the region.
[10] Aside from the adventurous use of color, Riley’s works are also characteristic of unique iconography, depicting natural and supernatural narratives which take place in the Limmen Bight area, the coastal saltwater country of the Marra people, for which he is both a traditional owner, as well as a custodian (Djungkayi).
[7] His art remained a reflection of what he saw in his mind, a process of discovery in which Riley was uninterested in regurgitating past artworks or conventional formulas.
[24] The most prominent recurring motifs in his work include: Garimala, the snake who created the Four Archers, the Four Archers themselves, Ngak Ngak, a white breasted sea eagle, the Limmen Bight river, the ceremonial shark's liver tree, so-called because a shark gave his liver to create the tree, and additionally, clouds or sun which generally represent Riley's mother.
[7] Along with the physical motifs outlined above, including the ancestral beings and natural features of the land, Riley incorporated traditional objects and designs associated with sacred ceremonies.
[7] In 1987, Gabrielle Pizzi, who was in the process of opening one of Australia's only galleries specializing in Aboriginal art, visited Ngukurr to select pieces for their exhibition.