About

Dr. Chelinay Gates (Malardy)

2019 was an exciting year.

Dr. Chelinay Gates is a Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a practitioner of Hypnosis and Esoteric Acupuncture, as well as a professional artist and creative.

Known for her light-filled, impressionist works, Chelinay has won numerous prizes and was awarded “Female Artist of the Year” in Australia in 1990, before being included into the “Who’s Who” book of Western Australia in 2007.

Collections can be found at places like the Perth Children’s Hospital, Sir Charlies Gardner Hospital, The National Portrait Gallery (New South Wales), The Residency Museum in Albany, Guildford Grammar School and many other public and private collections.

Inspired by her father and other indigenous elders, like Ken Colbung and Jimmy Chi, she has involved herself in issues of social injustice, community services and protection of sacred sites.

Having had her husband and fellow artist, Dr. Drewfus Gates, horrifically burnt in 2001 while on an art trip to remote Australia, her focus moved from art to caring for Drew and her 4 children, while developing her Traditional Chinese Medical Clinic.

This year, Chelinay reemerges as an artist in her own right, for the first time in over a decade.

Lucky-Child: The Secret

Lucky-Child grew out of a request from Magabala Books to write and illustrate a children’s book. It sounded so easy.

With pencil in hand, I sat at the little table in the nook at the end of my bed. From the darkness my family and their friends stepped into the dim lamp light to play out their stories that flickered in and out of focus, like some old movie on a tiny screen.

Night after night, in those bewitching hours between 11pm and 2am, I scrawled frantically trying to capture what I was seeing and Hearing. These individuals’ stories I knew so well, but joined together they revealed a back story that enabled me to start the journey to healing my own julgia (broken) heart.

When the vision would turn-off, I’d ring my dear night-owl friend, Paula Day, and I would read the latest scrawlings. Whilst her fingers tapped her keyboard at great speed. She’d laugh, cry and make comments. and when my throat would shut tight with emotion, she’d wait in respectful silence. What a sweet friend. You can imagine the thousands of hours she’s put in typing the original copy and then editing. Having an autistic son has given Paula the ability to listen like no other. She has joined my life journey and I have joined hers.

I am one of the Julgia Ones (Broken Ones). Trying to barndijunmanha (put things in right order) in my heart, I have not been alone. My kids have been there not allowing me to give up, no letting me to run the “I’m a failure” script. They have supported me as I have cried fresh tears for the death of my Jalibri (Great Grandmother) and they have financially backed my risk taking. And Cadon, bless him, has been my techno’ guru, my manager, my slave and my tall shoulder to cry on. Sharnee has been my motivator and Oni gives me serpentine lectures when I am faulting.

Friends like Judith-Anne, Olivia and Laksa have held spiritual court with me and allowed me to pour out my heart to them.

Bless you all.

The Artwork

Dr. Chelinay is most well-known for her impressionistic painting specialising in gouache, but has recently turned her hand to traditional manual crafts, like weaving, carving and sculpting. She also utilises her skill of language to evoke emotion and spark conversation, this has been recently recognised with her being invited to produce and preform poems, plays and films at a local preforming arts house in Perth City.