April Nulgit

April Nulgit is the daughter of Charlene Carrington, her father is of Ngarinyin tribe which is from Derby. She comes from a big family of five brothers and one sister, she is also the eldest sibling, she was sent away for boarding school in Broome and had attended St Mary’s College.

April did her first ever painting at the age of 10 years old and comes from a family of artists; her mother, Charlene Carrington is an established Warmun artist; her great-grandmother is Betty Carrington, a senior artist in Warmun, and her grandfather Churchill Cann (deceased) influences her current practice.

April often visits her maternal ancestral Ngargooroon (Texas Downs) country with her family, and is told many Ngarrangkarni (dream time) stories associated with these places. These become the subjects of her paintings, and she likes to go out fishing and camping on the weekends.

April’s father’s tribe is Ngarinyin from Beverly Springs in the West Kimberley area, and through her father’s bloodlines, she is able to paint the figure of the Wandjina.

She explores themes of her dual tribal identity, her ancestral countries and more recently, looking at ochres through the microscope and responding to the generated imagery, giving rise to very unique canvases that delight and surprise at the same time. Her exploration of micrographs of ochres and other local flora was initiated by an opportunity to exhibit at the Powerhouse Museum during the Vivid Festival 2018, thanks to Microscopy Australia and the University of Sydney. She was able to attend the opening and also discover the department of Veterinary Sciences, as her interest in the Sciences intersect with her talent in her Art practice.

April was also a featured artist in the Fremantle Art Centre’s 2018 exhibition of Revealed, which aims to showcase Indigenous Emerging artists from all over WA. Another great achievement in her short career was when she was shortlisted for the City of Fremantle’s “25 under 25” Award 2017.