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Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka's Coolamon

Cultural warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that the following contains the names of deceased persons.

‘I started working here… Yes, I start here in the pottery studio… Yes, that’s all, only a story, short.’ – Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka, interview for the Hermannsburg Potters, Desart, 2020.

Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka
Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka (Luritja, Western Arrernte people) made terracotta ceramics, two- and three dimensional paintings, prints, sculpted animals, and masks. In this work, Ungwanaka has used the sgraffito technique, where the artist has carved into a layer of dried glaze. Ungwanaka is best known as a member of the Hermannsburg Potters, a group of artists from Western Arrernte who make richly illustrated hand-coiled terracotta ceramics. Ungwanaka’s husband, Arrernte Pastor Nahasson Ungwanaka, contributed to founding the Hermannsburg Potters. Ceramics by the Hermannsburg Potters are now held in major public collections nationally.  

Rahel Kngwarria Ungwanaka (1946-2020)
Luritja, Western Arrernte people, 

Coolamon, 2009

terracotta with sgrafito glaze,
Parliament House Art Collections

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