Emily Kam Kngwarray

Emily Kam Kngwarray (c.1914-1996) was born in her Ancestral lands, Alhalker located in the Sandover region of the Northern Territory, Australia. One of the world’s most significant contemporary painters to emerge in the twentieth century Kngwarray practiced in batik and painting on canvas, creating art that embodied her detailed knowledge of the places she lived in throughout her life. She layered motifs representing the plants, animals and geological features that formed the desert ecosystems around her. Beginning in batik in 1977 and moving to painting on canvas in 1988 she also occasionally worked on paper. In the early 1990s Kngwarray made some prints, including etchings and linocuts. Creating an expansive catalogue of works in her life, Kngwarray was at the forefront of the Aboriginal artistic revolution in Australia. Kngwarray’s unique style and powerful creative vision came to redefine contemporary Aboriginal art and gained worldwide attention. In 1996 Kngwarray passed away and in 1997 she posthumously represented Australia at the Venice Biennale. Her work has made immense impact in Australia and globally and has inspired many new generations of Aboriginal artists from Australia.