Name

Djardie Ashley

Culture

Aboriginal Australian

Gender

Male

Birth date

1950

Birth place

Northern Territory, Australia View on map Close map

Death date

2007

Death Place

Australia View on map Close map

Occupations

Artist (installation) | Artist (painter) | Printmaker | Sculptor

Summary

Worked: Australia (NT). Screenprints

NGA IRN

14435

Context

Australia

Biography

Djardi Ashley

Djardi Ashley was born in the bush at the top of the Glyde River in the land called Djilpin country (his grandmother’s country). For most of his life he worked as a stockman all over the Northern Territory and Arnhem Land. He retired in 1982.

In 1978 he married George Milpurrurru’s sister, Dorothy Djukululu, and in 1983 they moved back to Mulgurrum outstation where Ashley concentrated on painting. He mostly paints the totemic Ngambi stone spear heads. These are made at a site called Ngilipitgi southeast of Ramingining. These spearheads are associated with the Wagilag Sisters’ story, an important Aboriginal creation myth.

As he says: “My brother Ray showed me these pictures. This painting I do comes from the Dreamtime. We remember what our father and grandfather taught us so we can hold onto our culture and show our children. This Ngambi is very important, our luku (footprints) for us. It’s body painting for us”.

His work is characterized by sophisticated interlocking triangular designs in a complex composition. 

Biography courtesy of The Australian Art Print Network, 2001.

Affiliation

Rittharrngu people

ATSI region

Arnhem

Sub-region

Central Arnhem Land

Specific location

Ramingining

Artist’s country

Ngilipitji

Language

Rittharrngu

Sub-section

Burrulang

Clan

Wagilag

Moiety

Dhuwa