image: S. Woolagoodjah, photo courtesy Leah Umbagai
Wodoi & Jungun
Leah Umbagai
13 November – 13 December, 2025
Wodoi & Jungun, a new artwork by senior Worrorra artist and cultural leader Leah Umbagai, combines sculpture, sound, story, and dance. Umbagai has created a series of dance poles using contemporary materials. The poles are accompanied by a soundscape by Umbagai, her son Folau Penaia, and Rona Charles, celebrating the enduring strength and continuity of culture across generations.
DADAA Fremantle Gallery
Monday – Saturday
10am – 4pm
Opening event
Friday, 14 November
Event details
4pm – 6pm | Exhibition Opening | DADAA Gallery
6.30pm | Dance Performance | Bathers Beach
Dance performances
The poles will also activated through dance, story, and sound in a special performance by the Mowanjum Dancers at Bathers Beach.
Thursday 13 and Friday 14 November | 6.30pm
Bathers Beach
About the artist
Leah is a Culturally Senior Woddordda woman from the Wanjina Uungud Peoples of the north-west Kimberley. She is a respected leader in the arts, as well as in environmental, health, language revitalisation, and cultural initiatives.
Leah’s paternal grandmother, Elkin Umbagai, had a strong influence on her early life, planting the seed for her creative journey. Her grandfather, Donny Woolagoodjah, also deepened this passion. Growing up surrounded by Elders, Leah learned by listening to their stories and teachings about the Law of Country. These experiences grounded her and helped her learn to walk in two worlds. She was taught the importance of animals, traditions, and ceremonies, preparing her to support the future of her people.
Through her own journey, Leah has come to understand how these teachings connect everything: from the animals to the caves; and how their meaning becomes clear over time. Leah says, “Our future is what we reap and sow; it all begins in your dambeem (home). We can’t keep our stories, skills, knowledge, and language to ourselves; they must be shared (Wunan). The next generation must carry them forward, as they form the foundation of our paths.”
Leah paints, shares, and teaches, expressing her deep connections to her clan, Country, moieties, and dreams.
