Aboriginal Artist from Mt Allan

Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi

Region: Mt. Allan - Northern Territory
Language group: Anmatyerre

Born in Mt Allan, Gabriella Possum is the older daughter of the renowned painter, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri (now deceased), who taught her to paint. She attended Yirara College in Alice Springs. Gabriella depicts stories such as the Women Ceremonies, Bush Tucker (Black Seed and Exploding Seed from the Mt. Allan area), Goanna, Serpent and Seven Sisters Dreamings. She designed several record covers and also some T-shirts for CAAMA. Gabriella now lives in Melbourne with her husband and five children.

Selected exhibitions:

1987 exhibition in Brisbane with her father Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri and sister Michelle Possum and brother-in-law Heath; 1988 Aboriginal 'Dot' Painting, Melbourne; 1992 Coo-ee Gallery, Sydney; 1992 Washington DC, U.S.A.; 1993 Berne, Switzerland; 1998 'Sztuka Aborygenow - (Art of the Aborigines)', Warsaw, Poland; 1999 Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide; 1999 Aboriginal Art Galleries of Australia, Melbourne; 2000 United Nations, New York; 2001 Mia Mia Gallery, Melbourne.

Selected collections:

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory; Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide; Holmes a Court Collection, Perth; Richard Kelton Foundation Collection, Santa Monica, USA; Galeria R. Poznan, Poland; Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs.

Awards: Alice Springs Art Price, 1983

From: Aboriginal Artists, dictionary of biographies by Janusz B. Kreczmanski and Margo Birnberg (This illustrated dictionary of 446 pages showing many photographs of artists and paintings is available from us for AUD80 plus AUD30 for packaging, handling and postage).