Artist Feature | Dhambit Munuŋgurr – Sydney Contemporary 2023

Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery present Dhambit Munuŋgurr

Sydney Contemporary 2023, Booth F05
Carriageworks
7 to 10 September


Dhambit Munuŋgurr was born in 1968 in north-east Arnhem Land, where she now lives and works. Munuŋgurr comes from an extraordinarily rich artistic genealogy. Her grandfather, Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu (c.1904–1979), was an artist and contributor to the legendary 1963 Yirrkala Church Panels; and her father, Mutitjpuy Mununggurr, and mother, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, were both celebrated Aboriginal artists, each having won first prizes at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Awards. Emulating her forefathers’ great success, Munuŋgurr was a first prize recipient, awarded the 2021 Telstra Bark Painting Award for her work Bees at Gängän.

Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Yunupiŋu – The Rock, 2022, 4269–22, earth pigments and acrylic on bark, 232 × 102cm.; Murnyaŋ, 2023, 7579–22, acrylic on eucalyptus, 213 × 25cm. Photographs: David Suyasa. Courtesy the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney

Painting with Marwat (traditional Yolŋu hairbrush) using her non-preferred left hand, Munuŋgurr’s distinct brushstroke and vivid palette of cobalt blues echo depictions of the sky and sea. Her compelling juxtaposition of contemporary materials and traditional stories construct an unexpected signature style. Munuŋgurr introduced non-traditional colours to her oeuvre when she began painting with acrylic paint in an effort to overcome the difficulty of grinding ochre by hand, which became beyond her capability following a car accident in 2007.

In doing so, she has defined her practice by the vibrancy of colour and powerful spontaneity of her mark making to create the strident, dazzling bark paintings and larrakitj (hollow poles) that she is known for today.

Dhambit Munuŋgurr working on one of the larrakitj (hollow poles) to be exhibited at Sydney Contemporary 2023 with Roslyn Oxley Gallery, Sydney. Courtesy the artist and Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre

Munuŋgurr has been a finalist in the 2021 and 2022 Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, the 2020 NGV Triennial at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and Tarnanthi 2019 at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, amongst others.

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