John Mawurndjul

(Australia 1952– )

Language group: Kuninjku, Arnhem region

Title

Mardayin ceremony

Other titles:

Untitled

Place of origin

Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

Year

2000

Media

Bark painting

Medium

natural pigments on eucalyptus bark

Dimensions

170.0 x 78.0cm (irreg.)

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Don Mitchell Bequest Fund 2000

Accession number

538.2000

Copyright

Location

Yiribana Gallery

Further information

John Mawurndjul is one of the most experimental bark painters in Arnhem Land. Mawurndjul grew up in his country near Mumeka on the Mann River. He lived for a considerable time in the newly established Aboriginal town of Maningrida in the 1960s, but returned to Mumeka from 1972. Today he moves regularly between Maningrida and his outstation at Milmilngkan, south of Maningrida. He was taught to paint by his father, Anchor Kulunba, his brother Jimmy Njiminjuma and his uncle Peter Marralwanga. Mawurndjul's early work of the late 1970s reveals his meticulous attention to detail and very fine rarrk (crosshatching) technique.

Many of his early works are relatively small images of the rainbow serpent Ngalyod in snake-like form, or of the yawkyawk, mermaid-like creatures that were devoured by Ngalyod in Mawurndjul's clan lands. However, in the late 1980s Mawurndjul began to produce larger paintings of this subject, which evoked the powerful twists and turns of the body of Ngalyod. The iridescent rarrk across Ngalyod's body captures the almost electric, radiating power of this being. In other paintings, Mawurndjul experimented with complex interactions of figurative forms, particularly in depictions of Ngalyod involved in the act of biting or swallowing the yawkyawk. Sometimes Mawurndjul shows the dismembered bodies, and at other times they may be merging together. In essence, the imagery of the rainbow serpent swallowing these other beings is a reference to site creation, of the yawkyawk joining with Ngalyod inside the earth and investing it with their everlasting power.

More recently, Mawurndjul has emphasised the geometric aesthetic in Kuninjku painting. He has produced works that comprise grids of crosshatching with circles representing waterholes enmeshed in the grid. These paintings relate to Mardayin body paintings, and focus attention upon the abstract representation of features of the associated landscape. In the context of the Mardayin ceremony, these geometric body designs are said to physically connect initiates to the sacred power of the ancestral beings who made their clan lands. Mawurndjul has said that he is not simply reproducing ceremonial designs in works such as 'Mardayin ceremony', 2000, but that he is also creating new forms of patterning and composition. Mawurndjul has travelled the world with his art, and studied collections of early bark painting in cities as far afield as Paris. Through his art, Mawurndjul draws upon and extends Kuninjku traditions to promote a wider understanding of his culture.

Luke Taylor in 'Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2004

Bibliography (7)

Art + soul: a journey into the world of Aboriginal art (2010), Hetti Perkins (Australia) (Author), The Miegunyah Press (Australia), Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Art Gallery of New South Wales: highlights from the collection (2008), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

One sun one moon: Aboriginal art in Australia (2007), Hetti Perkins (Australia) (Author), Margie West (Australia) (Author), Theresa Willsteed (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

"rarrk" John Mawurndjul: journey through time in northern Australia (2005), Guido Magnaguagno (Director), Bernhard Lüthi (Curator), Schwabe & Co.AG Verlag Basel (Switzerland), Museum Tinguely (Switzerland), Basel, Switzerland.

Crossing country: the alchemy of western Arnhem Land art (2004), Hetti Perkins (Australia), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia (2004), Hetti Perkins (Australia) (Author), Theresa Willsteed (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Crossing country: the alchemy of western Arnhem Land art (2004), Public Programmes Department, Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia) (Author), Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Exhibition history (8)

Mumeka to Milmilgkan, (02 Nov 2006–15 Dec 2006), at The Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University (Australia), Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia 2601.

One sun, one moon, (03 Jul 2007–02 Dec 2007), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain Sydney New South Wales Australia 2000.

The Dreamers (2009-10), (09 May 2009), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain Sydney New South Wales Australia 2000.

Country Culture Community (2008-09), (12 Nov 2008–19 Apr 2009), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain Sydney New South Wales Australia 2000.

Aboriginal bark paintings, sculptures & hollow logs from Maningrida and Yirrkala Arnhemland, (13 Sep 2000–14 Oct 2000), at Annandale Galleries (Australia), 110 Trafalgar Street Annandale, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2038.

rarrk – John Mawurndjul: Zeitreise in Nordaustralien, (19 Feb 2006–06 Jun 2006), at Sprengel Museum Hannover (Germany), Kurt - Schwitters-Platz Hannover, Germany 30169.

rarrk – John Mawurndjul: Zeitreise in Nordaustralien, (21 Sep 2005–29 Jan 2006), at Museum Tinguely (Switzerland), Paul Sacher-Anlage 1 Basel, Switzerland CH-4002.

Crossing country: the alchemy of Western Arnhem Land art, (24 Sep 2004–12 Dec 2004), at Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia, estab. 1874), Art Gallery Rd Domain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 2000.

Collection

John Mawurndjul