Peggy Griffiths-Madij
Jiylinum, NT
Peggy Griffiths-Madij's practice of more than 35 years responds to her environment and her place within its subtle transitions and spiritual relationships. Her elegant porcelain object revisits a Kimberley tradition of boab nut engraving and is reminiscent of the beginnings of her own practice. Embellished with abstract motifs representing the spinifex plains of her Country, this work acknowledges that while mediums and techniques change, the value and richness of cultural knowledge remain.
About the Artist
�I grew up on Newry Station and learnt my culture from the old people. I saw my old people being taken away from the camp with chains around their necks and I was hidden once when Welfare came so that they would not take me away. I learned to dance all the traditional dances and I have taught all my children and grandchildren these dances. I went to school at the Kimberley Research School and later at Beagle Bay Mission before I got married at 16 to my promised husband [Mr A Griffiths]. We have been together ever since.�
Peggy Griffiths-Madij is a highly respected senior artist at Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, as well as a director for the art centre. She began working with Waringarri Aboriginal Arts in 1985, and her practice has spanned carving and painting boab nuts and boomerangs, painting, and printmaking.
Peggy�s work has been celebrated through exhibitions across the country and she has been a winner and finalist in numerous art prizes. She made history as the first Indigenous artist to win the prestigious Fremantle Print Award. Peggy is now a four-time finalist in the Telstra NATSIAA.
