Petrina Bedford Dale / Gularu Boss Wandjina (PB62)

Petrina Bedford Dale was born in Derby, WA in 1998 and is a third generation West Kimberley artist. Both her grandfathers – Jack Dale Mengenen (maternal) and Paddy Bedford (paternal) were celebrated Indigenous Kimberley artists.

Petrina’s mother, Edna Dale, is a senior artist and Petrina and her mother often paint side by side. Petrina was only 12 when her first artworks were included in an exhibition at Japingka Gallery in Perth alongside the works of her mother and grandfather. An incredible achievement for such a young artist.

Petrina is the oldest of eight children to her parents Edna and Lance – seven girls and a boy. Petrina is Gija skin on her father’s side and Ngarinyin on her mother’s side. She lives with her family at Imintji Community, 230km east of Derby along the Gibb River Road, where her mother is Chairperson.

Petrina was extremely close to her late grandfather Jack Dale who encouraged her to paint from a young age. Painting allowed Jack to pass on the stories of his country which relate to the Wandjina rock art of the West Kimberley.

Now in her twenties, Petrina is an established artist in her own right with an incredible talent and, we believe, an amazing career in front of her. Most definitely an artist to watch out for in the future.

Group Exhibitions

• 2024 Mowanjum Wandjinas, Art Mob, TAS
• 2019 Dungog Contemporary, NSW
• 2019 Moonie’s Art Studio/Gallery, Broome, WA
• 2017 Sydney Opera House Homeground Markets, Sydney, NSW
• 2016 Revealed, Fremantle Art Centre, Perth, WA
• 2016 Paintings & prints – Reveal, Thelma Johns, Perth, WA
• 2006 Jack Dale – A Kimberley History

Bibliography

• 2015 ‘Mowanjum Daytrip,’ Philippa Jahn, Desert River Sea, Art Gallery of Western Australia

This striking painting by Petrina depicts the powerful Big Boss Wandjina, known as Djingunyu. The work continues a deeply held tradition passed down through generations of Ngarinyin custodians. As the granddaughter of respected elder and lawman Jack Dale Mengenen, Petrina carries the stories and knowledge that inform this important work.

Djingunyu was a great Wandjina in the Narrungunni or Dreamtime. He made a Law that each Dumban or Clan Estate group should be happy living in the land made by their own Wandjina and spirits. When the people from another Dumban came to take over the land that Djingunyu had made, he gave them a trick and killed them all. Djingunyu was a good Boss Wandjina. He took their bodies back to their proper country and made them alive again.