Snell was born in 1933, near a jila called Kurtal.[1] Her father was Lawalawa, the custodian of Kurtal. A painting by Ngarralja Tommy May (2020 winner of the Telstra Award[2]) shows Lawalawa in death, left at a waterhole called Jitirr by his family as he was too weak to travel further.[3] In 2007, Snell painted Jitirr.[4]
After the death of her father, she and her mother moved around the region, visiting places which included Balgo, Warnku, Louisa Downs Station, Bohemia Downs Station and Christmas Creek Station.[5] They spoke the Wangkatjungka language.[1] In later life she remembered seeing a white man and a sheep for the first time.[6] The movement out of the desert by many became known as the Walmajarri diaspora.[7] Whilst she was working at the stations with her mother, she met her husband Nyirlpirr Spider Snell.[6] They were together for many years until they officially married in 1986 at Burawa Mission.[8] They had two children, Henry and Dorothy, as well as adopting the artist Lisa Uhl.[8] Dorothy went on to have eight children, who Dolly helped look after; these grandchildren referred to Dolly as the 'Kurtal Queen'.[8]
Artistic career
Snell began painting in the 1980s[9] as a result of Australian governmental investment in Aboriginal education. She was one of the founding members of Karrayili Adult Education Centre and later Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency.[8] Her influence was felt as she became known as one of the artists that shaped the surge in interest in Aboriginal art in the 1990s.[8]
Exhibitions
Snell's work was first shown in 1991 in Karrayili at Tandanya, Adelaide.[10] In 1993, her work was part of 'Images of Power: Aboriginal Art of the Kimberley' at the National Gallery of Victoria.[10] In 1994, her works displayed in 'This is my country', a Mangkaja Arts Group exhibition held at Artspace, Claremont, part of the Festival of Perth.[10] She was also part of the group of artists who painted the giant canvas Ngurrara II in 1997.[8][11] In 2007, she was part of an international group show in 2009 organised by Ildiko Kovacs, entitled 'Sitting Down with Jukuja and Wakarta'.[12] The artists worked alongside each other for three weeks, learning before presenting their work together.[13] Her first solo show was in Darwin in 2014 at the Outstation Gallery, and was called 'Kurtal: New Work by Dolly Snell'.[7][9]
In film
Snell featured in the 2015 documentary Putuparri and the Rainmakers, which was directed by Nicole Ma. In it, her grandson Tom narrates the struggles of the people of the area to have their claim to their ancestral lands constituted.[14]
Telstra Award
In 2015, Snell was awarded the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award for her painting Kurtal, which depicts the place she was born.[9] Whilst painting Kurtal, Snell sang songs she was taught by her grandmother.[15] It took three weeks to paint.[15]
She was a leader of women's ceremonial law in the Wangkatjungka community.[10] She died on 30 December 2015 in Fitzroy Crossing.[16]
Themes
Snell's paintings revolve around themes close to the country around Kurtal. They include: the jila (waterhole), jilji (sandhills) and surrounding country in the Great Sandy Desert.[1] She also paints mangarri (bush tucker) and local plants.[1] Her work is known for its bright colours and bold style.[5]
^Australia, National Museum of (1 January 1996). "Ngurrara". National Museum of Australia. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
^Double desire : transculturation and indigenous contemporary art. McLean, Ian, 1952-. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2014. p. 61. ISBN978-1-4438-7133-4. OCLC896794135.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
^Rothwell, Nicolas. (2011). Journeys to the interior (EasyRead large print ed.). [Sydney, N.S.W.]: Read How You Want. p. 281. ISBN978-1-4587-8018-8. OCLC765614745.
