Between the Fence and Freedom: The Work of Evelyn Malgill

On a recent trip to the Warmun Art Centre, I was immediately struck by a suite of bright pink paintings by Evelyn Malgil.

I had just come back from LA at the time; they had a similar aesthetic to the cool, block-like minimalist art forms found in the laid-back art and design of contemporary California

They had this incredibly woke, hip aesthetic combined with a kinda ‘F’ you attitude towards the norm. They definitely had sass, sass in bucket loads; and Evelyn Malgil is as cool and sassy as her artwork suggests. She is a senior Traditional Owner for Winniper Springs, a special site about an hour out of Warmun. Her work carries a quiet authority in line with her cultural status.

The Kimberley has wrestled with the difficult realities of what can be summarised as the ‘station movement’.

This movement underpins the economic disparity of the region that used free labour to build the wealth of the state and its devastating effects are well evidenced in art centre archives.

The ‘station movement’, still ongoing, can also be linked to mining and the ongoing fight for access to resources in traditional homelands.

A simple black brush-stroked-fence within a cool, contemporary scene reminds me that someone cut that tree, shaped it by hand, dragged it somewhere and put up a fence, for a foreign animal, in the middle of pristine freedom.

Contemporary art investigates the difficult spaces and reflects on where we want to go. Evelyn's work is no exception. In Elsie Cliff, Bedford Downs Country (2016), Evelyn deals with the history of violence and destruction that is inevitably present in the landscapes of her Country.

Evelyn's most joyful and sublime works are of Winniper Springs, where she is a senior Traditional Owner.

Winniper is a sacred site and an inland paradise about an hours' 4WD away from Warmun. You must ask permission before you go and be introduced to the water so you can safely enter the spring.

Evelyn’s work is an excellent example of how art can make us feel and think differently about the accepted narratives of the shared place we all call home.

The quiet interplay between the fence and freedom reflects on the colonial history of the Kimberley, where happiness is found in sacred water.

Winniper: Works by Evelyn Malgil was first exhibited at Galerie pompom in Sydney, NSW, from 20 June to 19 July, 2020.