Mervyn was born at the Telegraph Station in Mparntwe (Alice Springs). His mother Cynthia (Kamara) Obitja was a Western Aranda woman. His father was the late Mr Wenten Rubuntja Pengarte, a famous artist.

Mervyn’s father was an important role model for him. He was a senior lawman and a respected member of his community. He fought for Aboriginal rights and protection of the land, working alongside the Central Land Council and assisting in the Mabo agreement.

When Mervyn was 13 years old, his family moved to Ntaria (Hermannsburg), where he first saw watercolour paintings as he watched his uncles Maurice, Oscar, and Keith Namatjira painting like their father Albert. Arnulf Ebatarinja, another uncle, kindled Mervyn’s painting talent when he gave him some watercolour paperboard and taught him to paint.

Mervyn’s family moved back to Mparntwe in 1975, and he began to paint with Basil Rantji, who taught him how to mix colours.

In 2006, Mervyn was invited to submit a painting for the “Mornington Peninsular Works on Paper” Exhibition. In 2018, Mervyn’s artwork was featured in the Badu Gili projection onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House, showcasing his talent and heritage to a wide audience. In 2021Mervyn won the NATSIAA Awards in Darwin (3D category) in a collaborative work with artist Hubert Pareroultja.

Projects:

2013          Speaker at “Haunted Landscapes Presences in the art of Albert Namtjira & Rex Battarbee”. A public symposium presented by the Writing & Society. The State Library, Sydney, NSW 
2014          Public Art, Mural at the Alice Plaza, Alice Springs
2016          Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs (Ground projection)
2016          Cicada Press print workshop, UNSW, Sydney
2017          Parrtjima, Festival of Light, Alice Springs, (Honouring Space) 
2018          Badu Gili, painting projection on the eastern Bennelong sail, Sydney Opera House, Sydney 
2019          Cicada Press print workshop, UNSW, Sydney

2020           Public Art, window wraps at the Alice Plaza through Red Hot Arts, Alice Springs, NT

Group exhibitions

• 2023
  Museum of Economic Botany, Tarnanthi Adelaide
• 2023
  Desert Mob, Araluen Art Centre
• 2023
  Belonging / Tjoritjarinja, Ngununggula Regional Gallery Southern Highlands, Bowral NSW
• 2023
  Art house Sydney
• 2022
  Kuprilya Kwatja Etatha, Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Arts, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
• 2022
  Clay on Country, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2022
  23rd Biennale of Sydney – Rivus, 12 March – 13 June 2022
• 2022
  One Too Many, Cross Arts Projects
• 2021
  30th Desert Mob Exhibition, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2021
  Before and Now, South Australian Museum, Adelaide SA
• 2020
  Shortlisted for the Heysen prize for Landscape, Hahndorf academy , SA
• 2020
  Homeless on my Homeland, NIRIN 22nd Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
• 2019
  Tjina Nurna-ka, Pmarra Nurn-kanha, Itla Itla Nurn-kanha (Our family, our country, our legacy), Flinders University Art Museum, Adelaide SA
• 2019
  Pmarra Nurna-Kananhala untha-lapp-urma (Walking through country), Hazelhurst Art centre, Sydney, NSW.
• 2018
  Desert Mob, Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs
• 2018
  The Endurance Of Bush Medicine, Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne, VIC
• 2017
  The extractive frontier: mining for art, Castlemaine, VIC
• 2017
  Tjuritja Nana Mara to Paris (From the good Tjuritja to Paris), IDAIA , Paris , France
• 2017
  The Namatjira Project Auction, Art Gallery of SA (AGSA), Adelaide, SA
• 2017
  What if this photograph is by Albert Namatjira?, Art Gallery of SA, Adelaide SA
• 2017
  ArtGeo Complex Exhibition, Busselton, WA
• 2016
  Abducted!, Alcaston Gallery, VIC
• 2016
  UNALIENABLE, Sullivan + Strumpf Gallery, Sydney, NSW
• 2016
  Lingiari awards exhibition, Tangentyere gallery, Alice Springs, NT
• 2015
  A Hermannsburg Christmas, ReDot Gallery, Singapore
• 2015
  The Namatjira Collection, TARNANTHI, Art Gallery of SA (AGSA), Adelaide, SA
• 2015
  Kinship, In the footsteps of Namatjira, Moree, NSW
• 2015
  The Namatjira Collection, RAFT art space, Alice Springs, NT
• 2015
  Hermannsburg Horizons,, Wooloongabba Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
• 2014
  Namatjira to Now, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT
• 2014
  Regeneration, Metropolis, Gallery, Geelong, VIC
• 2014
  The Men Artists of the Hermannsburg School of Art, , Talapi Gallery, Alice Springs, NT
• 2014
  Five Generations: The Strength of Namatjiras Legacy,, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT
• 2014
  RightNow, Boomalli, Sydney, NSW
• 2013
  Salon des Refusés, Darwin, NT
• 2013
  Southbank Centre, London, UK
• 2013
  Contemporary Aboriginal Art From Australia, Château de l’Etang, Paris
• 2013
  Customs House Library, NAIDOC week 2013, in collaboration with the City of Sydney and Tali Gallery, Sydney, NSW
• 2013
  The Namatjira Legacy, Tali Gallery, Sydney, NSW
• 2012
  Art Mob, Hobart, TAS
• 2012
  The Lockup, Newcastle, NSW
• 2012
  Regional Art Gallery, Burnie, TAS
• 2012
  Art Mob, Launceston, TAS
• 2012
  Frankston Arts Centre, ,Frankston, VIC
• 2012
  Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA
• 2012
  Talapi Gallery,, Alice Springs, NT
• 2012
  Perc Tucker Regional Gallery, Townsville, QLD
• 2012
  Damian Minton Gallery,, Sydney, NSW
• 2011
  Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
• 2011
  Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
• 2009
  The Watercolourists of Central Australia, Indigenart, Melbourne, Vic
• 2009
  Beyond Batterby, Recent Watercolour by Central Australian Artists, Hobart, TAS
• 2009
  Desert Mob Exhibition, Araluen Art Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2009
  Real to Surreal, Scenes from the Centre: Journey with the New Generation of Hermannsburg Watercolour Artists, Tandanya, Adelaide, SA
• 2008
  Desert Mob Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT
• 2008
  The Namatjira circle-landscapes of Central Australia, Birrung Gallery, Sydney, NSW
• 2007
  Shifting Ground Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT
• 2006
  Hermannsburg School of Art – Watercolour Exhibition, Araluen Galleries, Alice Springs, NT
• 2005
  Desert Mob Exhibition, Alice Springs, NT
• 2004
  Central Advocate Award, Alice Springs, NT

Collections

• 2020 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2010 Ian Viner QC, WA
• 2021 Museum and Art Gallery of NT, NT
• 2021 Finalist at the 2008 Telstra Awards, NT
• 2006 Mornington Peninsular Works on Paper Exhibition
• 2004 Central Advocate Award, Alice Springs, NT
• 2008 Parliament House Art Collection, ACT
• 2014 Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute (Baker IDI)
• 2016 National Museum of Australia (NMA), Canberra, ACT
• 2017 Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, QLD
• 2018 Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), SA
• 2018 Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne, VIC
• 2019 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2020 Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, QLD
• 2007, 2021 Museum and Art Gallery of NT
• 2022 Murdoch University Collection, WA
• 2022 Araluen Arts Centre, Alice Springs, NT
• 2014 AIATSIS collection, ACT
• 2023 Powerhouse Museum Sydney NSW
• 2023 University of Melbourne, Medical History Museum
• 2023 Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, QLD

Awards

• 2021
  38th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Wanduk Marika 3D Award (Sponsored by Telstra)
• 2021
  Lingiari Art Awards, Desart Alice Springs NT Finalist
• 2021
  Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award, Telstra NATSIAA
• 2018
  35th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, Museum Art Gallery NT Finalist
• 2008
  25th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award, Museum and Art Gallery of NT
• 2007
  24th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum and Art Gallery of NT