Gabriella Possum

Gabriella Possum

Born:c.1967 
Country:Mount Allen- NT 
Language group:Anmatyare

Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi is the eldest daughter of renowned artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, who was awarded Order of Australia in 2002 and met HRH, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1990.In 1985 Gabriella won the prestigious Alice Springs Art Award while still a student at Yirara College.

She is recognised as a culturally significant artist and her work has been exhibited in the U.S.A and throughout Europe including the Modern Art-Ancient Icon exhibition (1992) and Down Under (1993). Gabriella is best known for her Milky Way Dreamings however she also paints Water Dreaming and My Grandmother’s Country- Bush Tucker.
Her work is in many major collections including the National Gallery of Australia and most recently she was commissioned by Aranda to complete a twenty metre art installation depicting her custodial Grandmother’s Country for Flemings Nursery/Jamie Durie display at the 2008 RHS Chelsea Flower Show which was awarded gold.

Seven Sisters depicts the ancient myth of the Milky Way. This Dreaming was inherited by Gabriella from her mother and grandmother and given to Gabriella by her father. This story takes place at ‘twenty mile’ located near Napperby Creek in the Northern Territory. The Seven Sisters travelled over a vast expanse of country, until they realised that they were being followed by a man called Wati-Nyiru who was a Tjakamarra man. He was an evil person who wanted to seduce the sisters and have ownership of them. They tried to hide from the man in caves, however the man began disguising himself as many different objects to deceive them. With little hope of relief from the man, the seven sisters escaped through a fire at Kurlunyalimpa to the Milky Way where they became the stars of the Pleiades in the Constellation Taurus. There they were safe and they forever watch out over all women on earth. Wati-Nyiru followed them to the heavens, and became the star Orion and is unable to get near them as they move across the night sky.

Grandmother’s Country- Bush Tucker depicts the artist’s Grandmother’s Country near Mt. Allen, Northern Territory. This is an important place to the artist and her family, there is bush food in abundance and women are shown collecting foods in these works. There are waterholes and meeting places within these works and many types of bush food such as berries, yams and honey ants.