Lena Nyadbi

Lena Nyadbi
Lena Nyadbi standing in front of her most notable work, Dayiwul Lirlmim (Paris, June 2013)
Born	circa 1936 Warnmarnjulugun lagoon, Western Australia
Nationality	Indigenous Australian
Known for	Painting, installation art
Notable work	Dayiwul Lirlmim

Lena Nyadbi (born c. 1936, near Warnmarnjulugun lagoon, Western Australia) is a contemporary Indigenous Australian artist from the Warmun Community in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Her works include Dayiwul Lirlmim, details of which were painted on the roof of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris. The resulting installation can only be seen from the air, including the Eiffel Tower and Google Earth.

Lena Nyadbi, of the Gija people, by her own estimate, was born circa 1936 at Warnmarnjulugun lagoon near Greenvale Station in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. Her father and mother died whilst she was at a young age, and she was raised by her older sister, Goody Barrett, on Lissadell Station.

From a young age, Nyadbi served as an indentured labourer on cattle stations in the region. She learned milking of cows, cattle and how to ride horses which were not broken. Nyadbi recalls the station mistress would drag her to the kitchens and would teach her by force to carry cups of tea without spilling any. In 1968 when the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission ruled that indigenous cattle station workers would be paid the same as their non-indigenous counterparts, Nyadbi along with many Gija people were forced to relocate to the Warmun Community. In the 1970s the Warmun Art Movement was formed, and it during this time that Nyadbi lived amongst artists such as Hector Jandany, Queenie McKenzie, Rover Thomas, Jack Britten, Paddy Jaminji and George Mung Mung.

In 1998, the same year the Warmun Art Centre opened its doors, Nyadbi began painting full-time. Nyadbi had spent many years watching and learning from the other artists in Warmun, and her mentor, Paddy Jaminji, taught her the time-honoured techniques of grinding ochre and charcoal, and using her hands to place the charcoal onto a canvas. Nyadbi creates her own paint and her style is known for its "rich, spare aesthetic".