Untitled painting by Sonia Kurarra

Object or painting? This is an early work of Sonia Kurarra, one of Mangkaja’s cornerstone artists. Painted in pink on the underside of a drawer, it reflects her passion to paint— ‘I feel happy and I sing. I sing when I paint’. Many artists in the early days of Mangkaja painted on any surface they could find—cardboard, masonite and… old drawers. Born in the desert, Sonia mostly paints her river country from the Noonkanbah station where she was brought to live as a child, and here she grew up and worked. Her vibrant, repetitive brush strokes reflect her passionate expression of her river country. Now living in the old people’s home, age is no barrier to Sonia’s art. She was featured on the cover of Fabric Quarterly, exuberantly wearing a Gorman dress featuring her art. In the article, Sonia passionately expressed the importance of protecting her beloved river country.