As her art evolves, Maljah continues to share her people’s culture and stories by extending her practice in new mediums. Her recent textile project, generously supported through the Double R Arts Foundation was realised in collaboration with textile designer Bobbie Ruben and is based on the translation of her signature motifs of flora such as waterlilies and seedpods, from paintings into designs on linen.

Maljah was born into the Gkuathaarn clan in Normanton, in the Gulf of Carpentaria. She spent her childhood on Magowra Station, on her mother’s Country. The traditional name, Maljah, means lightning and comes from her grandmother’s dreaming. The meaning of her grandfather’s name – floodwaters – inspired Maljah to create artworks about water themes, including salt and freshwater mussels, water birds and plants, and the complex patterning of tidal water marks. 

The design skills required to achieve the seamless repeat-patterning of her new textile designs were at the heart of Maljah and Ruben’s collaboration. Both creatives combined their expertise in painting, designing and printing. Beyond this, Maljah’s cultural knowledge of the life-cycles she observes, those of her Country’s creatures and plants, imbues these textiles with a traditional story-telling intent, yet freshly expressed. 

The Gallery and the Double R Foundation are proud to have supported the development of this exciting exhibition, BARRLIN – Wet ground. The designs Maljah produced add to the textile collections of Far North Queensland which the Gallery has fostered over recent years.