Doreen Jinggarrabarra

Doreen Jinggarrabarra

Biography

Doreen Jinggarrabarra is a leading fibre artist at Maningrida Arts & Culture. After watching her mother Elizabeth Mipilanggurr during her childhood, Doreen began weaving in her early 20s. Jingarrarrabarra specialises in conical dilly bags (burlupurr), woven string bags and mats. She uses a range of natural fibres,  including pandanus, mirlarl (jungle vine/malaisia scandens), sedge grass and kurrajong. Unlike most West Arnhem weavers, she does not dye the fibres with natural pigments, preferring the subtly of the natural variations in colour and tone. She is renowned for her fine weave and intricate designs, which she attributes to learning from her mother. 

She is the Traditional Owner of the fish trap and confers approval to those artists who seek to produce these objects or depict the motif in their paintings. She is a cultural leader in her community, teaching younger generations of weavers and also regularly leads demonstrations and tours for visitors and tourists at the Djomi Museum and MAC. She also works closely with linguistics and academics who study Burarra language and Anbarra dialect.

Her works are held in important public and private collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Burlupurr – Dilly Bag (2018), Jungle Vine (Malaisia Scandens) and Kurrajong (Brachychiton Diversifolius), 31.5x20x17cm
Burlupurr – Dilly Bag (2018), Pandanus (Pandanus Spiralis) and Natural Dyes, 40x32x32cm

Languages

Burarra (Anbarra)

Community

Maningrida

Date of birth

1961-03-08

Past Exhibitions

Group

  • 2021
    Together we tell our stories 2021 : Indigenous Glass, Ceramics, Fibre + Sculpture, Sabbia Galley, Redferm, NSW
  • 2021
    Lineage, Delmar Gallery, Ashfield NSW
  • 2020
    Artbank Collection, Artbank, Sydney
  • 2020
    2020 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards Finalist, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin
  • 2020
    Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2020, Online
  • 2020
    Kun-waral Spirit Shadows, Salon Project Space, Darwin
  • 2018
    Compass, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
  • 2017
    Into the Water curated by Maningrida Arts & Culture, Tactile Arts, Darwin, NT
  • 2016
    NAISDA 40th Anniversary Auction, Auction night at Carriageworks, Sydney
  • 2004
    2004 an-gujechiya, An-gujechiya -fish trap-, Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT