Debra Umala b. 1979

Debra Umala is a talented emerging artist from the remote community of Mimili in the expansive Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands, some 380km south of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). The APY Lands are a region of great cultural and artistic significance. Debra is the daughter of esteemed artist Angkaliya Curtis, famous for her depictions of desert animals, and is sister-in-law to esteemed Pitjantjatjara artist, Teresa Baker.

Debra paints Kaliny-Kalinypa, or the honey grevillea plant grevillea eriostachya, a native shrub that produces long spikes of bright yellow-green flowers. It is a sought-after food source, cherished in particular by Anangu children for the honey-like nectar that the flowers produce. The flowers are also sometimes placed in a piti (coolamon) with kapi (water) to soak, which makes a refreshing sweet drink called “bush cordial”, or “honey water”. This plant grows in sandhill country and thrives in the sandy soil and spinifex plains. There is great cultural significance and Dreaming stories related to this plant.

Like many Aboriginal people of the arid Central and Western Desert regions, Debra has a strong connection and intimate knowledge of her ancestral country. Painting roundels, Debra depicts the waterholes and rockholes of her country where people would gather to collect water to drink with the kaliny-kalinypa. She says her mother used to take her to Walinynga, also known as Cave Hill, when she was little. Walinynga is a renowned rock painting site, and a deeply sacred place associated with Kungkakarangkalpa Tjukurrpa (Seven Sisters Dreaming). Debra takes her own children and grandchildren there to swim in the fresh water there. Debra also paints a Wanampi (Rainbow Serpent) story – the desert versions of this story often closely intertwine with waterholes.

Debra has demonstrated great talent for the traditional dotting technique of the Central and Western Desert regions, but has expanded and experimented with her painting style, creating vibrant and contemporary works using a gestural and expressive brushwork technique. Debra is a dynamic artist who fuses traditional and contemporary expressions of her culture in a striking and effortless manner. Debra worked as a project officer at the Mimili Maku Art Centre for several years and now works at the APY Gallery in Adelaide. She has 5 children and 2 grandchildren.