Mareeya Pigram

Mareeya grew up in Rubibi/Broome on Yawuru country. She started work at Nagula Jarndu in 2023 as a causal during her holiday break from university and being in this creative space has sparked her interest in art design. She is now employed as a part time artsworker at Nagula Jarndu and is enjoying exploring her own art practice in the centre on her days off, building her skills in printmaking techniques. Mareeya draws on her experiences growing up on country to inform her choice of themes in her work.

In her younger years, Mareeya went out bush with her dad and uncles and learnt alot about the changing Yawuru seasons. In her current work she is looking at Laja season (around October-November) when the wattle flowers are in bloom, which also indicates that the stingrays are fat and good to hunt. Mareeya is also exploring Man-gala season (around December to March) when the clouds are fluffy which means the gurlibil (turtles) are laying their jimbu (egg).

“I am very happy to be connecting more closely with my Yawuru heritage through my art, reaching out to older family members who are teaching me and inspiring the content of my designs.”

Mareeya is building up her portfolio of blockprinted work, using very fine line work and carefully cut details in her ‘blocks’ which gives her a distinctive style in her prints.