Mabel Juli is a senior artist at Warmun Community (Turkey Creek) in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. She was born in the bush at Five Mile Creek, near Moola Boola Station (south of Warmun), and was taken as a baby to Springvale Station, her mother?s country. Mabel started work on the station as a little girl, and as a young woman moved to Bedford Downs and Bow River stations for work.

Mabel is a strong Law and Culture woman and an important ceremonial singer and dancer. She started painting in the 1980s at the same time as Warmun artists Queenie McKenzie and Madigan Thomas. The women used to watch Rover Thomas paint and one day he said to them ?you try yourself you might make good painting yourself?. Mabel says ?I started thinking about my country, I give it a try?.

Mabel is a dedicated, innovative artist who continues to work in natural earth pigments on canvas. She primarily paints the Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) stories of her country Darrajayn (also spelt Tarrajayan), which is covered largely by Springvale Station.

Source: Chrysalis Publishing web site with permission

For more on Mabel Juli see http://www.chrysalis.com.au/artists.asp?intArtistID=15