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Mala's mother was Waganami Togarino of Gora village (Saro'ore clan) and her father was A'oji Negunna of Godibehi village(Ematé clan).
Mala and her husband Elo Nari have three children.
Mala was taught to paint Ömie designs by her grandmother and remembers watching her at Kërö village (an old village of Gora) as a young girl.
Mala loved to sit with her grandmother and learn about Ömie history, the natural environment and how to nurture the land.
Mala's main designs are tuböru unö'e - eggs of the Dwarf Cassowary, dahoru'e - Ömie mountains, munë'e - river stones, buboriano'e - beaks of Blyth's Hornbill and odunaigö'e - jungle vines.
From 1996 to 2002, before the arrival of David Baker and the Ömie Artists cooperative was formed, Mala was instrumental in bringing about a revitalisation of barkcloth painting in Jiapa and Duharenu villages.
She is a very strong culture woman and is well known across Ömie territory for her powerful singing voice.
Her work was exhibited in the 17th Biennale of Sydney at the Museum of Contemporary Art and in the landmark exhibition of Ömie art Wisdom of the Mountain: Art of the Ömie at the National Gallery of Victoria International..
Mala's mother was Waganami Togarino of Gora village (Saro'ore clan) and her father was A'oji Negunna of Godibehi village(Ematé clan).
Mala and her husband Elo Nari have three children.
Mala was taught to paint Ömie designs by her grandmother and remembers watching her at Kërö village (an old village of Gora) as a young girl.
Mala loved to sit with her grandmother and learn about Ömie history, the natural environment and how to nurture the land.
Mala's main designs are tuböru unö'e - eggs of the Dwarf Cassowary, dahoru'e - Ömie mountains, munë'e - river stones, buboriano'e - beaks of Blyth's Hornbill and odunaigö'e - jungle vines.
From 1996 to 2002, before the arrival of David Baker and the Ömie Artists cooperative was formed, Mala was instrumental in bringing about a revitalisation of barkcloth painting in Jiapa and Duharenu villages.
She is a very strong culture woman and is well known across Ömie territory for her powerful singing voice.
Her work was exhibited in the 17th Biennale of Sydney at the Museum of Contemporary Art and in the landmark exhibition of Ömie art Wisdom of the Mountain: Art of the Ömie at the National Gallery of Victoria International..