Mela Gon La Roudiyo
we are going to the rodeo
jill daniels
13–30 November 2025
“Longtaim mela bin abum roudiyo ya la Ropa. Ai bin luk hau dei bin raidimbat det buligi and hos ja la det yad. Ai bin grouap lugunatbat roudiyo wen ai bin lilgel en mi peintim ba jinggabat det taim na.
Back in the day we had Rodeo's here in Ngukurr. I used to look at how they were riding the cattle and horses, there in that yard. I grew up watching the rodeos when I was a young girl and I paint them now to remind myself of that time.”
In Mela Gon La Roudiyo (We Are Going To The Rodeo), we join Jill Daniels’ iconic cowboys and cowgirls as they travel from Ngukurr across a vibrant, abundant country to the Rodeo. Riding horses through colourful landscapes, they pass cattle trucks along the Roper Highway, pause at lush billabongs teeming with life, and camp beneath star-filled skies.
Their journey culminates in the main event—one close to the artist’s heart and a joyful fixture of many remote communities—the Rodeo.
The building excitement is captured in Jill’s bold, expressive style, her palette shifting between the dry and wet seasons, day and night, encapsulating her distinctive and contemporary take on First Nations storytelling.
Please join us to celebrate the opening of Mela Gon La Roudiyo on Friday 14 November (6–8PM).
Jill Daniels is an artist based in Ngukurr, South East Arnhem Land, known for her vibrant depictions of life in the remote community.
Her paintings tell stories of cowboys and cowgirls travelling across vast, colourful landscapes; the people they meet, the animals they see, and the twinkling stars they sleep beneath.
"I was thinking about painting in 2003, and I came to the Art Centre to start painting then. I didn’t know how to paint, but my sister Amy taught me how to paint when I came to the Art Centre. I saw how she was doing the painting, and I started learning then, how to paint. I got some style from her, but after that I got my own style, different way. I got my own style then."
Mela Gon La Roudiyo is proudly presented by BSG Projects in association with Ngukurr Arts.
