Marika Patrick Australian, Gija, b. 1978

Marika Patrick began painting at the Warmun Art Centre in 2005. She has four children and paints the Ngarranggarni (Dreaming) stories of her grandmothers and her grandmother's father: the Willy Willy dreaming, Warlu country as well as Ngarrangkarni (Dreaming) stories associated with rock formations, including the Bungle Bungles (Purnululu) in the country south of Warmun towards Halls Creek, and Chinaman's Garden. Patrick was asked by her grandfather to paint when he was still alive but she only became interested in painting as she grew older and realised the value of the old people's stories. Patrick made an immediate impact on the Warmun Art Centre when she started painting in early 2005, and in July of the same year she was voted Chair by the artists' committee. She is one of the rising stars among the Warmun artist group and early in her career was a board member of ANKAAA, the peak advisory and support agency for Aboriginal-owned art centres in the Kimberley and the Top End. In 2008 Marika Patrick travelled to Japan and hosted a series of workshops across the country. As well as inspiring many children and adults with her technique, the trip also served to raise awareness of the cross-cultural possibilites of Aboriginal Art.