Mavis Ngallametta

She was a Putch clan elder and a cultural leader of the Wik and Kugu people of Aurukun, Cape York Peninsula, Far North Queensland.

[6] She maintained connections with her family, learning to weave dilly bags and fruit bowls, made from cabbage palm and pandanus, from her mother and aunty.

While attending a workshop at the Wik and Kugu Art Centre, run by Gina Allain, she began making small paintings depicting important cultural sites.

[2] Larger paintings refer to the changing seasons as well as specific sites including Ikalath, where she collected the white clay Yalgamungken, for the vibrant local ochres; her traditional country, the coastal side of Kendall River, which she was able to view from the air; Wutan, a camping site belonging to her adopted son Edgar; and various pamp, or swamps, around Aurukun.

[8] According to Sally Butler: "nearly every major public and private art collection in Australia" acquired one of these large-scale paintings between 2011 and 2014.