Body Paint designs for Bush Plum Ceremony by June Bird Ngale, 126x92cm

Body Paint Designs for Bush Plum Ceremony by June Bird Ngale

June Bird Ngale, an artist from the Utopia region of the Northern Territory, is renowned for her expressive body paint designs used in the Bush Plum Ceremony. Born around 1954 at Waite River, she later moved with her family to Mulga Bore on the Utopia Homelands. After the early passing of her father, Tommy Bird Mpetyane, she considered Lindsay Bird Mpetyane her father. Her mother, the celebrated artist Ada Bird Petyarre, passed away in 2010.

June is deeply knowledgeable about her cultural laws and traditions, which she passionately communicates through her artwork. Her involvement in the Bush Plum Ceremony is a testament to her dedication to preserving and sharing her heritage. The ceremony, which holds significant cultural importance, includes intricate body paint designs passed down through generations.

June's designs for the Bush Plum Ceremony are marked by their intricate patterns, reflecting the beauty and significance of the bush plum, a plant celebrated for its nutritional and medicinal properties. These designs are more than mere decoration; they are a visual representation of the stories, laws, and traditions of her people.

Her participation in the Utopia Women’s batik group in the late 1970s, alongside her mother Ada Bird, laid the foundation for her artistic journey. This experience, combined with the influence of the CAAMA Summer Project in 1988, significantly shaped her artistic expression. June proudly states, “all family living at Mulga Bore, all painting, all the time.”

June Bird's body paint designs for the Bush Plum Ceremony are a continuation of the women’s ceremonial body paint traditions, usually associated with the Arnkerrethe, Mountain Devil Lizard Dreaming for Atnungkerre and Alhalkerre Country. These designs, shared among her mother and her aunts—Kathleen Petyarre, Gloria Petyarre, Myrtle Petyarre, Violet Petyarre, Nancy Petyarre, and Jean Petyarre—highlight the interconnectedness of family and culture in her work.

In her paintings, June Bird also often depicts the Alpar plant, which holds a special place in her grandfather’s Dreaming. Her works, reminiscent of her mother’s paintings of sacred grass from the late 1980s and early 1990s, continue to capture the mystique and cultural significance of her heritage.