Born 1948, Luluigui Station, Western Australia
Died 2010 Derby, Western Australia
Peggy Wassi was born on Luluigui station on the Fitzroy River in Western Australia. At the age of around 5, Peggy was separated from her mother when her mother was sent to the Bungrun hospital out of Derby, where people were treated for leprosy. She was brought up by her father on the station, where she worked as a station cook. At the same time, Peggy would go off with the elders footwalking, collecting bush tucker and visiting family members on different stations, as well as participating in ceremony and law. After leaving Luluigui, she moved to the Looma community, and then lived in Derby. Peggy began painting quite late in life, and was one of only a handful of Nyikina people who has done so.
Exhibitions
2006 Art Melbourne, Royal Exhibitions Building, Melbourne, Victoria
2006The Fleurieu Peninsula Water Prize, Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, McLaren Vale, South Australia
2006 The Redland Art Awards, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, Queensland
2006 Art Sydney, Horden Pavilion and Royal Hall of Industries, Sydney, New South Wales2006 John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, Victoria
2006 Kimberley Women: New Works from Gilgi, Loongkoonan, Lucy Ward and Peggy Wassi, Indigenart, The Mossenson Galleries, Subiaco, Western Australia
2007 Art Melbourne, Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton, Victoria
2007 Derby on Derby: New works by Loongkoonan, Lucy Ward, Peggy Wassi and Gilgi, The Mossenson Galleries, Collingwood, Victoria
2007 24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory
2007 Spirited Encounters: New Indigenous Painting and Sculpture, Mossenson Galleries, Collingwood, Victoria2007 The Hutchins Art Prize, The Long Gallery, Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania
Collections
Berndt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia
Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Collection, Canberra
Awards/Grants/Commissions
2006 Finalist, John Leslie Art Prize, Gippsland Art Gallery, Sale, Victoria
2006 Finalist, The Fleurieu Peninsula Water Prize, Fleurieu Peninsula Biennale, McLaren Vale, South Australia
2006 Finalist, The Redland Art Awards, Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland, Queensland
2007 Finalist, 24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory
2007 Finalist, The Hutchins Art Prize, The Long Gallery, Salamanca Place, Hobart, Tasmania