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Mangala Country

“Mangala Country is in the Great Sandy Desert area, stretching to the river near and along the Liveringa River, and into the other part of the Martuwarra, near Udialla. The white in the painting represents the sacredness of my Mangala Country. I never met my grandfather, Mr Jadai — my mother’s father — but I’ve heard many stories of him. Even though he’s not with us in the physical, I can feel him and all my Mangala family when I go out on Country and when I paint our Mangala Country.”
 – Nuriah Jadai

This artwork honours Mangala Country and the families who carry its stories — walking, camping, hunting and gathering across desert edges, river systems and claypans. It remembers old people moving between soaks and sandhills, and later travelling to La Grange Mission (now Bidyadanga), keeping language, law and family strong.

Patterns trace tracks of animals and people; dots and lines follow water after rain; maps, camps, soaks and sandhills. The work also reflects the way caring for Country continues today — through ranger work and community leadership that bring together cultural knowledge and science to look after land and water.