Jackie Wirramanda

Career

Jackie Wirramanda is a Victorian indigenous multidisciplinary artist renowned for her paintings as well as jewellery, textiles and ceramics. She has Wergaia and Djupagulk Gunditj descent from north-western Victoria, as well as Tatiara descent from South Australia on her mother’s side.

Jackie’s paintings are inspired by Lake Tyrrell, in north-western Victoria, a sacred site of the artist’s ancestors. They feature aspects of traditional iconography, such as pools of water, sites for clan gatherings, and paths and journey lines. Paintings from the Grandmothers’ Country series reference the ability of salt deposits to take on and reflect any of the colours of the surrounding environment, resulting in rich palette of colour.

Paintings from Walking on Country series depict the lake at low tide, when the earth and natural ochre deposits are tinted by the layers of dried salt and enlivened by the shimmering effect on the shallow pools.

An important aspect of Jackie’s work is the narrative of the female experience and the role of women’s contributions to local indigenous communities. In the colourful Walking on Country series, sites of gatherings around shallow water pools at Lake Tyrrell are overlaid with images of dilly bags, referencing the traditional craft of weaving, as well as women’s central role in nurture and food preparation. 

The artist’s work is represented in corporate and private collections in Australia and internationally. 

Exhibitions

2021    Summer Salon, Metro Gallery, Melbourne VIC
2020    Walpa Winaka: To Burn and Leave, Metro Gallery, Melbourne VIC
2018    Finalist, Indigenous Ceramic Award, Shepparton Art Museum VIC