Name: Marissa Riley
Language: Wajarri
Community: Yulga Jinna
Biography:
Marissa Riley is a Nharnu Wajarri woman who grew up in Yulga Jinna Community. She is an artist and advocate for her community. Marissa attended remote schooling (School of the Air) as well as schooling in the regional town of Meekatharra. Currently she is living in Newman. Marissa recalls learning to paint with her aunty and nana when she was 10 years old. She paints about her country, dreaming stories, animals, and community life.
Yulga Jinna is a self-managed community located about 130kms north outside of the remote Mid-West town of Meekatharra. The name of the community, Yulga Jinna, means ‘Flat Foot’ in Wajarri. The community is located near to the Robinson Ranges in the Gascoyne-Murchison region, spanning between the Indian Ocean inland all the way to the Great Sandy Desert.
Untitled “When Martu paint, it’s like a map. Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where Read more…
Linyji (Claypan) “This linyji (claypan) story, it’s about when the old people used to be living in the desert, a long, long time ago- thousands of years ago. They used to make a hole in the linyjii for Read more…
Untitled “When Martu paint, it’s like a map. Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where Read more…