Nardurna

Rihya Dank is a Gudanji/Wakaja woman that grew up in a remote community in the Northern Territory with English/Irish and Spanish heritage.

Being raised in the Gulf of Carpentaria provided Ryhia with plenty of opportunities to learn about her country through stories shared by family. She spent time living in Melbourne working in the marketing industry before moving back to Darwin to wait out the pandemic, where she picked up painting. 
Dank’s painting is storywork. Gudanji/Wakaja people use to tell stories through pattern and design which is what she is emulating. She calls her storytelling Nardurna, meaning ‘woman’ in her language. For Gudanji, their big story is about three women who came from the ocean near Ngukurr in the Gulf of Carpentaria. They travelled a long way and then created their place, the hills and fresh water Country. Ryhia feels linked to this story.