Queenie McKenzie (c. 1930–1998) was a prominent Gija artist in the East Kimberley painting movement. Born at Texas Downs Station on the Ord River to a Malngin/Gurindji mother and a white father, McKenzie worked as a cook on cattle stations for almost 40 years until 1973 when she settled in Warmun (Turkey Creek). A strong member of the Warmun community, she taught the Gija language and culture at the local school, played a significant role in the reclaiming of traditional land in the region, and was heavily committed to ceremonial life. She began painting in the late 1980s, encouraged by her friend, artist Rover Thomas. Her paintings mapped Country, blending landscape with her Dreamings, historical events and episodes from her life. She liked to mix natural earth pigments to make new colours, including soft pinks and purples, a hallmark of her works. After producing her first prints in 1995 in collaboration with printmaker Theo Tremblay, she also became an active printmaker.
During a party at Mt Tomah in the Blue Mountains, McKenzie and a group of friends walked to the lookout at the end of the road. As photographer Greg Weight noted in his book Australian Artists: 'Queenie, well into her 70s, straddled the wire fence like the rest of us to reach the clearing and the view where these photographs were taken.'
Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2022
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