Rammey Ramsey

Rammey Ramsey was born on Old Greenvale Station, now part of Bow River Station, close to Warmun Community. His own country and that of his parents is a part of Gija country in an area to the west of Bedford Downs near Elgee Cliffs. His Gija name, Warlawoon is the general name for all this country and his paintings often simply refer to Warlawoon.

As a boy, Ramsey lived on Warlawoon country, walking in the bush with his family and then when he was still very young, he moved to and worked at Bedford Downs. He also spent time working at Landsdowne Station, before finally moving to Bow River Station where he still lives today. There he has been joined by two daughters.

Ramsey paints the gorge country north west of Halls Creek, in an area surrounding Elgee Cliffs. He depicts places where rock wallabies live, as well as camping areas near waterholes, and images of cliffs, hills, riverbeds, rocks, waterholes, roads, stockyards and meeting places appear as distillations of important features of the landscape.
He began painting for the artists' collective, Jirrawun Arts in 2000 and when that ceased operations, he returned to his sacred country and today continues to paint with Warmun Art Centre. His remarkable paintings are truly contemporary and somewhat radical as he embodies a more abstracted style with evident brush marks and geometric forms. He also uses both traditional ochres, with their more gentle and textural qualities and natural earthy tones, together with a primary acrylic palette of bright blues, reds and yellows.

In addition to painting, Ramsay is an inspired actor, dancer and teacher for over three decades and performed in the Neminuwarlin Performance Group's production of Fire, Fire Burning Bright, which featured in both the 2002 Perth and Melbourne International Arts Festivals.

Ramsay's work is represented in numerous major public and corporate collections including: Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney; Ian Potter Museum, Melbourne; and The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art. Significantly his work has been celebrated and represented in critical landmark exhibitions that have toured state and regional galleries throughout Australia.
© Rammey Ramsey/Copyright Agency, 2020