Barney Ellaga

Barney Ellaga was a senior law man of the Alawa community in the Northern Territory. He has intimate knowledge of his traditional homelands, and it is his country and its ancestral stories that his work represents.

Barney Ellaga uses extraordinary colour compliments to contour Alawa terrains, mastering western art mediums to transform ancient cultural stories into contemporary masterpieces. His fresh and dynamic approach gives impact and power to his abstract artworks.

As a Tjungai (Cultural Guardian) for several sacred sites, he possessed total authority over who could enter those lands, a responsibility reflected in his artworks. 

Passing away in 2015, he is considered the last of the lawmen for his people. The knowledge and position within the group is passed from father to son, as his sons predeceased him this knowledge was not transferred. 

'TJUNGAI' EXHIBITION (MAY 2025)
'THE LAST SONG MAN' AT ORANGE REGIONAL GALLERY (SEP - NOV 2023)
'NGUKURR - ARTISTS OF THE ROCK COUNTRY' EXHIBITION (MAY - JUNE 2022)
'MINIMALISM IN ABORIGINAL ART' EXHIBITION (APRIL 2022)
'MOTHER, COUNTRY, TJUKURRPA' EXHIBITION (FEB - MARCH 2022)
'PLACE OF STONES' EXHIBITION (APRIL 2016)

VIEW MORE LARGE WORKS BY BARNEY ELLAGA