Grace Dodson

Durrmu Arts

Grace Nhilli Dodson was born in Darwin in 1980, she grew up on her mother’s country and her ‘Kangathi’ south of Wadeye called Ngudaniman ( Fossil Head ) which is both Saltwater and Freshwater country. Her traditional name is of an ‘Island’ on a saltwater mudflat at Ngudaniman called Nhilli, the small island is very sandy, there are few boab trees where her children and nieces and nephews climb to get the boab fruit or use stones or longbum shells to hit the fruit off the tree. It is home to Yams, small bush potatoes and berries. Surrounding the island are mangroves which her family go to look for crab, longbums, mud mussels and periwinkles. There is also a river that is connected to the ocean where the Dartinga family go fishing for all types of fish, stingrays and Crabs. She paints her mothers totems and things that are significant to her from her Kangathi such as the detailed rocks and fossils, which make up most of the main beach under the cliffs at Ngudaniman. Stories of Ngudaniman have been passed down through her mother’s bloodline one of the main families of the traditional owners of Fossil Head.

“The country where I grew up is between Wadeye and Fossil Head and my mother’s language is murrinh patha. I now live at Peppimenarti with my husband and two sons.

My paintings express my memories. I am inspired by my mother’s country where there are many fossils which are embedded in the red headland of Falcon Dreaming.

My mother-in-law, Regina Wilson, inspired me to paint. I watched her paint and weave for several years.”

Working full time at the Peppimenarti Clinic, Grace uses painting as a way to relax, and clear her mind after her busy days at work. Grace’s father is the Western Australian Senator Patrick Dodson and her mother is artist Annunciata Dartinga.

Her calmness can be seen in her style of painting, using a soft colour palette and stories from her Mothers country.