Irene Namok
Title : Kutini Country – Cassowary Country Iron Range
Kutini is our language word for cassowary. These wild Kutini walk through our country. My grandparents told me when I was
growing up that Cassowaries are territorial but they also move fast to avoid being seen. Cassowaries these days live further in
the deep forests out of sight and to spot them you need to have good eyes. My grandparents told me a story of how a Dream
time Cassowary chased other Cassowaries for hours until the chasing Cassowary got tired. The Cassowary then went down
to the waterhole to take a cold drink and saw it’s shadow and realized it was his own shadow he was chasing around.
Cassowary are shadow keepers of our Ancestors.
67 cm X 64 cm
Canvas
Artist: Irene Namok
Biography
I was born on Thursday Island and my grandfather was a church minister at Old Site. I was going to get married but the man I was going to marry died. I
have got six kids. Four boys and two girls but one of my girls died so now I only have one girl.
School time I was a good artist and as I grew up I been doing art. I grew up with old ancestors – old grannie boys and old grannie girls at Old Site.
I been turn 9 years old at old site and we move to new site. As I been with my old ancestors they tell me story and draw on sand and charcoal for me
and they tell me, “grannie girl, one day you become artist and you go around the world making name for “yumi”, and I still never forget that.
I like to play with the colours that blends and that’s how I get the colours from the brightness of the sun, like morning sun, midday sun and afternoon
sunset. I take it there now and put in on my linen and canvas and plus we got water here and when the sun rise, it make reflecƟ on on the saltwater at
sun beach. That’s where I get my inspiration. We get sunrise everyday in front of beach.
My painting is about our land, about culture, ancestor stories from our tribes that are passed on to generations just like I’m speaking now here in Lockhart. We one big
family. What I want is to pass inspiration on onto my next generation in years to come, because we are all in that same circle and plus we got different
totems.
I also paint about my emotions. I paint about the bush fires and the waterholes. I paint the lagoons because we like to swim in the lagoons. I also paint
about meeting TImes and festival times and meeting places. We dress the kids all up and paint them all and we sit together and we yarn around the
fireplace under the moonlight.
I am happy when they buy my paintng. They take my story with them as well and they tell to their family. I even tell them when they buy my painting to
be aware when they go camping, hunting and fishing, stay long way from creek and river. I tell them that when they go down the creek, they have to
check rocks to find if anything in there before they go in like crocodile or wild pig.
67 cm X 64cm
This one now my story.
Solo Exhibioons
• 2010: emerge ART SPACE, PERTH WA (Sold out)
• 2013: May, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne (Sold Out)
• 2013: October, “All About Art 2013, Depot Gallery Sydney, joint with Alcaston Gallery Melbourne Victoria
• 2014: January, “Puuya Kuntha – Strong Heart”, ReDot Fine Art Gallery, Singapore
• 2014: June, gallery gabrielle pizzi, Fitzroy Victoria
• 2015: March, TANKS CAIRNS QLD, Sorority, duo exhibiton with Robbi Neal
Group Exhibitions
• 2009: May, “Four of Us”, Wooloongabba, Brisbane QLD
• 2009: May, Smith and Hall, Sydney NSW
• 2009: May, emerge ART SPACE, (Sold Out)
• 2009: June, “New Works from Lockhart River, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2009: November, “Affordable/Collectable Lockhart River Show”, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2010: April, “Yakai – We’re Coming”, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Victoria (Sold Out)
• 2010: May, “Nyiikumu Kiikana – New Looking”, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
2010: August, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), Cairns QLD
• 2010: November, Booker-Lowe Gallery, Houston Texas, USA (Sold Out)
• 2010: December, “The Affordable/Collectable Lockhart River Show 2010”, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2011: May, Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne Victoria
• 2011: August, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), Cairns QLD (Sold Out)
• 2012: August, cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), Directors Choice Exhibition, Cairns QLD
• 2012: October/November, Art Atrium, Sydney NSW
• 2012: November, Booker-Lowe Gallery, Houston Texas, USA
• 2012: December, “The Affordable/Collectable Lockhart River Show”, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2013: Salon De Refuses, Darwin NT (Not the Telstra Awards)
• 2013: December, “Ngampula Kuunchi – We are family”, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2014: July, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF), Cairns QLD
• 2014: November/December, “Ngi’i-Chu’uchi Minthama’, A group exhibition on of exquisite miniatures by a selection on of artists from the acclaimed
Indigenous art community of Lockhart River in far North Queensland, emerge ART SPACE, Perth WA
• 2014: Art Elysees, Arts d’Australie. Stephane Jacob, Paris France
• 2015: Art Paris Art fair, Arts d’Australie. Stephane Jacob, Paris, France
• 2015: VIBRATIONS: au coeur de l’art aborigene. Arts d’Australie. Stephane Jacob ACABAS, Paris, France
• 2015: 05 to 27 June – Lockhart River Group Exhibition, “Punyas, Wungki and Malkari – Basket, Skirts and Shake-aLeg” at Art Atrium Gallery, Sydney NSW
• 2016: January, “Lockhart River Landscapes Exhibiton” Paintngs from Lockhart River, Far North Queensland, ART
MOB, Hobart Tasmania
• Cairns Indigenous Art fair – July 2016
• Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair – August 2016
• 2017: January, Lockhart River Group ExhibiƟon, “Ngampula Aalkan Nyiiku Maanchima – Mepla: rise of a new era
and beginning”, ART MOB Gallery, Hobart Tasmania
• 2017: June, Lockhart River Group Exhibiton, “Cape Country”, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Hobart
Tasmania
• 2017: July, Curated ExhibiƟon and Market Stall, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns, QLD
• 2017: August, Group ExhibiƟon, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Northern Territory
• 2017: October 2017 to January 2018, Group Exhibition, Booker Lowe Gallery, Houston Texas, USA, Irene Namok,
Silas Hobson and Corporation Manager Enoch Perazim to attended the exhibitioon opening in Houston on 20
October 2017
• 2018: January, Lockhart River Ladies only group exhibition, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Hobart Tasmania.
Irene Namok, Margery Accoom and Corporation Manager attended the exhibiton opening
• 2018: May – June, Group exhibition, Art Atrium Gallery, Sydney NSW
• 2018: May – June, Group exhibinon, “Many rivers to cross”, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Hobart Tasmania
• 2018: June – October, a permanent collection exhibiton at Foundaton Burkhardt-Felder et Culture Musee de l’art
aboriegene australien “La grange”, Switzerland. Exhibition Titled “Islands in the Sea”, includes paintngs by Rosella
Namok, Fiona Omeenyo, Patrick Butcher Jnr and Silas Hobson. Included in this exhibition are works from Tiwi
Island, Elcho Island, Bentinck and Mornington Island, Torres Strait, Daly River near Darwin and Pormpuraaw West
Coast of Cape York. Irene Namok, Silas Hobson and Corporation Manager Enoch Perazim attended the exhibition
opening on 2 June 2018 in Switzerland
• 2018: July, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns QLD
• 2018: August, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin NT
• 2019: January, Group exhibiton, “Which Way”, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Hobart Tasmania.
• 2019: July, Group exhibiton, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, Cairns QLD
• 2019: August, Group exhibition, Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin NT
• 2019: August, Group Exhibiton, “Overcoming Adversity”, Art Mob Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery, Hobart Tasmania
• 2020: March, group exhibition, Chengdu China, invitaƟon from Australian Consul General Chengdu and DFAAT –
differed due to Covid 19
• 2020: March, Group exhibiƟon titled “Puuya Kuntha – Strong Heart”, Nomads Hotel Conference Centre on
Mulgrave Road Cairns, QLD
• 2020: August – September 2020, Cairns Indigenous Art Fair Virtual Art Fair
• 2020: September-October, Sydney Contemporary Online through Cooee Art Gallery
Collections
• 2018: Collection of Australian Aboriginal Art at Foundation Burkhardt-Felder et Culture Musee de l’art
aboriegene australien “La grange”, Switzerland
• Lepley Collection W.A 2013
• July 2017: Government House Queensland CollecƟon, 2 Irene Namok Paintings, Sunset Dreaming on Catalogue
No. 17-247, Mid-Summer on Catalogue No. 17-246
