Shirley Purdie paints, as she says, “to tell stories and to pass the stories and paintings along to my family and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” These are ancestral stories of Country and Ngarranggarni (Dreaming), but also sites and moments that resonate with Purdie, from her birthplace of Mabel Downs Station to her family history. A senior Gija artist from the Warmun community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Purdie is influenced by acclaimed Kimberley artists. “There was Queenie McKenzie and Uncle Jack Britten and Rover Thomas, and my mother Madigan Thomas,” she says. McKenzie and Madigan Thomas were among the first women artists to paint at Warmun in the early 1980s—then later, in the 1990s, Uncle Jack Britten said to Purdie, “You like to paint? I can get you a board and you do a painting.” Purdie says she “just went from there”. She now has a two-decade practice and is known for her rich use of ochre that is collected on Country. Purdie’s newest paintings develop her stories of family and Country. For example, Baggabal Gilban - Porcupine, Mabel Downs captures Purdie’s father’s totems—the fire and the porcupine—alongside a water python, Wallengernan, of which her father is a reincarnation. Meanwhile another recent painting, My Life. My Family., is a startling juxtaposition of an Aboriginal man being violently whipped against a tree, by two white station managers, at Violet Valley (Barloowan) before Purdie’s time. This is set against the relatively peaceful domestic life on Mabel Downs Station (Gilban) that Purdie experienced. After this whipping, Purdie’s grandfather created an escape plan that ensured his family’s safety for generations. As Purdie says, “So, my mother and her family packed up and got away. That’s them on the cart, and they go to a station with a nice gardiya (white person). That new station is where my mum met my dad and had all us mob, so she was happy—good place.” Tiarney Miekus for Art Guide magazine.
Shirley Purdie My life. My family., 2013 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 150 x 150 cm #32005 $12,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie My Life. My Family., 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 150 x 150 cm #32022 $12,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Gilban, 2018 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 150 x 150 cm #32006 $12,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Gija Skin Groups for Women, 2019 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 90 x 180 cm #32007 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Palm Hot Water Spring, Mabel Downs Station, 2000 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 100 x 140 cm #32001 $8,500
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Windool Ngarranggarni, 2012 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 90 x 120 cm #32002 $8,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie The old woman, the magpie and the old man, 2013 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 90 x 120 cm #32004 $8,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (19/22), 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 90 x 90 cm #32023 $6,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Gilbun Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 45 x 100 cm #32008 $3,000
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Pelican Hole, 2014 Natural ochre and pigments on canvas 80 x 60 cm #32003 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Violet Valley, 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32015 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (058/21), 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32009 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (059/21), 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32010 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (099/21), 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32011 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Gilban, 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32012 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Wangkanal, 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32013 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Ginga Gumpu, 2021 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32014 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Baggabal Gilban - Porcupine, Mabel Downs, 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32016 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (12/22), 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32017 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (13/22), 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32018 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (14/22), 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32019 $1,400
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Violet Valley Campground, 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32020 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com
Shirley Purdie Untitled (16/22), 2022 Natural orchre and pigments on canvas 45 x 45 cm #32021 Sold
63 Jersey Road Woollahra NSW 2025 T: +61 2 9327 3922 F: +61 2 9327 3944 ABN 38 088 015 730 E: info@olsengallery.com W: www.olsengallery.com