Dhambit Munuŋgurr Yolŋu voice

This work shows Gunyuŋarra/Ski Beach, the home of Dhambit Munuŋgurr, in Melville Bay, North-east Arnhem Land. The community is part of the Gumatj homelands and was established by Munuŋgurr’s maternal grandfather, Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu, when he led a return to Country in the 1970s, away from missionary influence and control. Gunyuŋarra has a rich history of political action; the community was run by land rights campaigner G Yunupiŋu, the artist’s uncle, until his recent death.

Munuŋgurr, a three-time Wynne Prize finalist, made this work in June 2022, following the federal election. Here, Munuŋgurr has depicted herself as a candidate on a campaign poster, which has been nailed to a stringybark tree.

The artist says, ‘I painted the tide, which is bringing more and more Indigenous people into Parliament, as shown by the canoe full of Yolŋu heading to shore. They are landing at Gunyuŋarra, which is the home of my family’s fight for a Yolŋu voice to be heard.’ Munuŋgurr’s inclusion of a kangaroo and emu at the bottom of the work – the Australian coat of arms – shows that the people are heading to Parliament.