Helen's work is featured in the exhibition Out Bulgul Way, at Flinders Lane Gallery from September 20 - October 8..
Helen
McCarthy Tyalmuty was born at Tennant Creek in 1972. After spending most of her
childhood at Nauiyu Nambiyu Community (Daly River), Helen completed her education
at Mount St Bernard College at Herberton on the Atherton Tablelands in far north
Queensland.
Helen
then went on to study teaching, initially at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous
Education in the N.T. and then completing her degree at Deakin University in 1994.
It was during this time at university that Helen's art career started to take
shape. In 1993, she was already involved in her first art festival. Her painting
continued to develop after moving into teaching full time. For 10 years she successfully
combined a job as a teacher in remote communities with her painting activities. Helen
had her first solo exhibition in 2006 in Melbourne and further solo and group
exhibitions there, in Sydney and in Perth have quickly followed. In August 2007,
Helen was honoured to receive the People's Choice Award at the 24th Telstra National
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award for her painting Tyemeny Liman's
Wutinggi (Grandpa Harry's Canoe). Helen was also a finalist at the 2008 Telstra
Awards. Helen
now devotes herself to painting full time. She spends her time in her community
at Bulgul, on the coast between Daly River and Darwin and with her family in Darwin.
As well as painting, Helen is a committed family woman with a son and four sisters
and is passionate about helping underprivileged children from all races. |