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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Judith Inkamala

1999
Greg Weight

gelatin silver photograph on paper (image: 30.7 cm x 40.3 cm, sheet: 40.4 cm x 50.4 cm)

Judith Pungarta Inkamala (b. 1947), senior potter, is an Arrernte woman who was born in Hermannsburg, 130 km west of Alice Springs. As a child she was friends with Albert Namatjira's granddaughter Gloria, and recalls watching the artist paint. Inkamala worked as a domestic where she learned to type and write stories about bush tucker, which were later reflected in her pottery designs. She joined the women's collective Hermannsburg Potters in 1993, initially working as an assistant to pottery teacher Naomi Sharp. In 1996, she was invited to Lombok, Indonesia to research pottery making techniques with the Sasak Potters. The designs for Inkamala's beautifully crafted pots, each topped with a lid adorned with a sculpture, draw inspiration from her life and her Arrente Country. Her works was included in the 2010 collaborative exhibition Meou Art: Exhibition of Australian Indigenous Art in Shanghai, China.

In 1999, Greg Weight photographed the Hermannsburg Potters and their work for a book about the collective. As Weight recalled in Australian Artists, the women worked hard in the pottery while their children attended the nearby school. He took this photograph of Inkamala during a trip with the women along the Finke River. 'Judith was returning from her walk when I photographed her standing in the sand of the Finke, in the country her ancestors have known for thousands of years.'

Gift of Patrick Corrigan AM 2004. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Gregory Weight/Copyright Agency, 2024

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Greg Weight (age 53 in 1999)

Judith Pungarta Inkamala (age 52 in 1999)

Subject professions

Visual arts and crafts

Donated by

Patrick Corrigan AM (130 portraits)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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Canberra, ACT 2600, Australia

Phone +61 2 6102 7000
ABN: 54 74 277 1196

The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency