Mary Anne Malbunka is of Purrula skin, born in 1971 of the Western Aranda (Arrente) tribe and speaks the Western Aranda (Arrente) language. The Western Aranda (Arrente) land of Ipolera is the community at which she lives and works. Ipolera is 180km west of Alice Springs. Mary Anne lived at Hermannsburg till 1980, when the people of Ipolera moved back to the land that belonged to them. Mary Anne started painting in 1989 when artist Stephanie Radke came to live at Ipolera. Mary Anne paints one story of Gosse Bluff, now called Thourala again. This is a story that belongs to her family, but she only paints about that which is allowed to be told. Mary Anne is the cousin of the leader of Ipolera, Herman Malbunka. She not only works as an artist, but also helps the Ipolera community to run the Art and Craft Centre, and also helps to show around those tourists who come to do a cultural tour run by Herman and Mavis Malbunka. Mary Anne and other Ipolera artists mainly paint of everyday life, of food gathering, the various forms of food – wild bananas, coconut, berries, witchetty grubs, honey ants etc. Very rarely are stories told in paintings. They are kept closely guarded.
- Writers:
- Johnson, Vivien
- Date written:
- 1994
- Last updated:
- 2011
