Sally sitting at Town Camp

 

Born at Erldunda Cattle Station, then moving to Maryvale Station, now Titjikala, Sally Mulda’s parents were from Erldunda and Aputula [formerly known as Finke] regions. She went to school at Amoonguna when her family moved there. Sally married and had her only child as a young woman, but lost both her husband and her baby daughter. After losing the use of her left arm in a childhood accident, Sally later faced the challenge of losing her sight in one eye. Widowed and without children, Sally lived with friends and extended family in Mparntwe for many years. Having never painted before joining Tangentyere Artists in 2008, from the outset Sally sought to record those interactions that constitute life for so many Aboriginal people today. Sally records events she witnesses and experiences without any particular judgement. Her oeuvre represents a journalistic approach to local situations. This is especially pertinent in that many of her paintings include text that explains each scene in strong and simple language. This form of social commentary on the daily lives of Town Camp residents in Alice Springs represents an important catalogue of lived experiences. As Sally explained about her many years living at Little Sisters Town Camp, located at the base of Mt Gillen, just south of Heavitree Gap, ”Us grownups sitting one side, all’a kids playing and making noise on the other, all’a dogs – big – little – all running round, making noise, all feeling good for home, you know?” In 2011, Sally moved to Abbott’s Town Camp, located by the Todd River.