Janet Forrester Ngala was born circa 1936. As a young girl, Janet recalls spending most of the time ‘on the road’ with her parents, moving between cattle stations in central Australia. Janet first started painting in 1980 with the Jukurrpa Artists. Since the passing of her husband in 2003, Janet devotes most of her time to her ceremonial duties and looking after her many grandchildren.
Acquisitions by the Australian National Gallery of her Milky Way Dreaming and her Bush Banana Dreaming have raised Janet’s profile. These acquisitions were made throught the ‘Johnny Farnham’s jeans’ group, auctioned at Sotheby’s (1995) to raise money for the medical research institute – Jeans for Genes.
Janet paints the Dreaming stories of the Ernabella and Maryvale regions. Many of these stories were inherited from her mother and grandmother. Janet’s meticulous double dotting technique creating three dimensional vines and blossoms, has become her trademark. Janet comments that the circular background design also represents the never-ending story of life, creation, birth and death.
Her major Dreamings include Snakes, Honey Ants, Sugarbag, Bush Banana, Milky Way, Witchetty Grub and Goanna Stories.
Exhibitions:
1999 - Art New York, Original & Authentic Aboriginal Art Gallery, Melbourne
1996 - Bruise, Belgium
1993 - Yapakurlangu Jirrama, Batchelor College,NT
1992 - Desert Dreamings, Grand Hyatt, Jakarta
1989 - Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
Collections:
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
All works copyright Original & Authentic Aboriginal Art
