Congratulations to Senior Luritja artist Doris Bush Nungarrayi, winner of the Sulman Prize 2023 for her work Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming) depicting several Mamus, the ominous and malevolent spirits that terrify Aṉangu.
Nungarrayi is a first-time finalist and the second Aboriginal artist to win the Sulman Prize, awarded to the best subject or genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist.
Mamus, or “cheeky ones,” as Nungarrayi refers to them, are typically seen to have large haunting eyes, straight hair standing upright, and can shapeshift into many different forms, including the human figure. The mamu usually hide in underground dwellings or inside hollow trees.
Winner Sulman Prize 2023, Doris Bush Nungarrayi, Mamunya ngalyananyi (Monster coming), synthetic polymer on linen, 198 × 273.5cm. © the artist. Photograph: © Art Gallery of New South Wales, Jenni Carter
Each year a different artist is selected to judge the winner. This year’s Sulman Prize judge was Sydney-based artist Nell, who said:
I really love how each figure in Doris Bush Nungarrayi’s painting has an individual character that is simultaneously scary and cheeky.
Yet collectively, these shapeshifters look like they are popping off the canvas and coming toward me, just as I am magnetically drawn to them. Mamunya Ngalyananyi (Monster coming) is a clear and powerful painting and a very deserving winner of the 2023 Sulman Prize.”
The Sulman Prize finalists, along with the finalists of the Archibald and Wynne Prizes, will be exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 6 May to 3 September 2023.
