ARTIST PROFILE

Jewess James

Jewess James was born around Lake Gregory area in about 1940.  When she was still young, her parents moved north along the Canning Stock Route towards cattle station country.  Her bush name is Milkijung.

Jewess’s maternal grandparents were from Lake Gregory, and her mother from Kulyayi, Well 42 (on the Canning Stock Route).  They were Wangkajunga, and her father was Walmajarri.

The family lived around the old Balgo mission during that late 1940’s, then moved to Christmas Creek.  Many Wangkajunga had settled here, and people gathered here at ceremony time, around January.

They moved between Christmas Creek and Thangoo, the sheep station.  Jewess and her sister Janie Lee later worked at the manager’s homestead at Christmas Creek – “Learn how to do station work.”  They “worked for big Jones and Missus Jones.  He bin have black wife before, he got one half-caste daughter.  Missus and old Jones gave Jewess her name.  He bin kill himself later on, when he old man.  Couldn’t leave that country.”

Amongst her tasks, Jewess looked after nanny goats – milking them to make butter.  Later Jewess married and had three sons, and “grew up’ another one.  Her husband died.  She moved to the new community of Ngumpau, about 20kms from Christmas Creek, nearer to the main road.

Jewess began painting in 2003 at the Wangkatjunka Arts Project.