Mabel Juli was born in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Kimberley region of Western Australia at Five Mile, near Moola Boola Station. She is well versed in the law and culture of her Gija people, which she sustains through ceremonial singing and dancing.

Her work - using pared-back designs alluding to her rich experience of the sparse desert environment where she lives - displays a rare strength and confidence. This dedication to process is evident in Juli's use of natural ochres, which are sourced from remote locations and then finely pounded into a unique range of powdered colours. The artist's distinctive work uses minimalist forms, which sit in large fields of seductive colour; these beautiful surfaces are achieved through the application of up to six layers of pigment.

Marranyji and Dinal 2004 depicts in abstract imagery the events of a simple narrative: an old woman is searching for her dog which was chasing a kangaroo. The dog follows the kangaroo into a water-filled cave; the surrounding black border indicates that the grass has been recently burnt.