Edna Dale / Djalala Wandjina (ED194)

Edna Dale is a Ngarinyin woman and the Chairperson of Imintji Community, a small community located 220km from Derby, WA on the Gibb River Road. She lives here with her husband Lance Bedford (grandson of acclaimed East Kimberley artist Paddy Bedford) and their seven daughters and son.

Edna is the daughter of renowned Kimberley artist Jack Dale Mengenen (1920-2013). Growing up she spent much of her time by her father’s side travelling through their country, watching him paint and tell stories. Edna’s father taught her the Law, painting and showed her the many cave sites that are sacred to Ngarinyin people.

Edna has her own distinct style, her elongated Wandjina figures and minimalist aesthetic are a clear departure from the imagery of her father.

A lovely quietly spoken lady, Edna still lives on her traditional land and is the driving force behind encouraging other Ngarinyin people to use art to tell their stories and keep their culture strong. Her eldest daughter Petrina, also an artist, is carrying on this important tradition to a third generation.

Selected Group Exhibitions
• 2017 Sydney Opera House – Sydney Homeground Markets
• 2016 Darwin Art Fair – Darwin, NT
• 2016 Kimberley Art Prize – Derby, WA
• 2016 Mowanjum Festival – Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, Derby, WA
• 2015 Darwin Art Fair –Darwin, NT
• 2015 Kimberley Art Prize – Derby, WA
• 2015 Mowanjum Festival – Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, Derby, WA
• 2015 Shinju Art Prize
• 2014 Darwin Art Fair – Darwin, NT
• 2014 Kimberley Art Prize – Derby, WA
• 2014 Mowanjum Festival – Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, Derby, WA
• 2014 Feature artist, Ashurst Legal Reconciliation Policy, Ashurst Legal
• 2013 Darwin Art Fair – Darwin, NT
• 2013 Kimberley Art Prize – Derby, WA
• 2013 Mowanjum Festival – Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, Derby, WA
• 2013 Revealed, Emerging WA Aboriginal Artists, Gallery Central, Central Institute, Perth, WA
• 2012 Darwin Art Fair – Darwin, NT
• 2012 Kimberley Art Prize – Derby, WA
• 2012 Mowanjum Festival – Mowanjum Art and Cultural Centre, Derby, WA

Bibliography
• 2013 Dale’s Daughter To Show Own Art, Broome Advertiser, Therese Phillips

Commissions
• 2000 Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony – Large Scale Sculpture

In the Ngarjin law all Wandjinas are our creator. He is our God. They have large eyes but they do not have a mouth. I’ve been told if Wandjina did have a mouth they would be more powerful. This Wandjina is from Bell Gorge, my great Grandfathers country, Wulla Wulla Dot Nuneenah.

The circles are the Djalala marking stones of our land ownership and mark the sacred places where the Wandjinas created dreaming sites. These sites are reminders of the laws and ceremonies that the Wandjina’s created for the Ngarinyin people. These laws and ceremonies ensure that we have a good life – healthy children, shelter, ceremony and food.