Wukun Wanambi (1962 – 1 May 2022) was an Australian

Yolngu The Yolngu or Yolŋu ( or ) are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnuma ...

painter, filmmaker and curator of the Marrakulu clan of northeastern

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

Biography

Wanambi was born in Gurka'wuy as the oldest son in his family. His father, Mithili Wanambi, was an esteemed clan leader and renowned painter. Although he was born to a family of artists, he wished to be a politician growing up. When Mithili died in 1981, sacred clan designs could no longer be painted because no one had the authority to paint them anymore. It was not until 1997 that Djunggayi (caretakers and preservers of clan knowledge) taught Wanambi the designs. Wanambi then began painting and created for the Saltwater Country exhibition, re-introducing motifs that had not been painted since his father's death. From this point on, he became a highly renowned artist, dedicated to honouring his father and ancestry through his art. He died in Darwin on 1 May 2022.The date of death in this ''Sydney Morning Herald'' article (4 May), previously cited in this article, is incorrect:

Artwork

While Wanambi was an artist who used many different media, he is best known as a painter and sculptor who works with natural pigments on bark and traditional

memorial pole A memorial pole, also known as hollow log coffin, burial pole, lorrkkon, ḻarrakitj, or ḏupun, is a hollow tree trunk decorated with elaborate designs, made by the Yolngu people, Yolngu and Bininj peoples of Arnhem Land in the Northern Ter ...

s, or larrakitj. He also made prints at the Bulka-Larrrŋgay Mulka Centre. He was the Cultural Director of the Mulka Project, the media centre in Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka. Through this position, he advised individuals on what they have the clan authority to depict in film. However, he was also a video artist himself, working to bridge generations by creating archival art that reconstructed ceremonial documentary archives.Lane, Robert Lazarus (2015). "WUKUN WANAMBI'S NHINA, NHÄMA, GA NGÄMA (SIT, LOOK, AND, LISTEN)" in ''Indigenous Archives: The Making and Unmaking of Aboriginal Art,'' edited by Darren Jorgenson and Ian McLean. UWA Publishing. pp. 227-249. Rather than solidifying binaries of past and present, traditional and modern, Wanambi aimed to show the interconnectedness of time as well as the global network through the recording of ceremonial practices. Using both his artwork and his involvement with the Mulka Project, Wanambi advocated for the agency and involvement of Aboriginal peoples to cultivate a true understanding of Aboriginal cultures.

Curatorial practice

Wukun Wanambi has served as the Cultural Director at The Mulka Project since its inception in 2007. In 2014, he created his first multimedia artwork, Nhina, Nhäma Ga Ŋäma (Sit, Look and Listen), inspired by the cultural footage archive he manages. In 2019, he exhibited an expanded interactive version at Tarnanthi AGSA. Most recently, in 2020, he collaborated with the Mulka Team on Watami Manikay, now displayed at the AGNSW. In 2017, Wanambi travelled to the United States to join the curatorial team for the exhibition ''Madayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Art from Yirrkala.'' This was Wanambi's first time working as a curator. In 2018 he served as curatorial consultant on the exhibition ''MIwatj'' at the La Trobe Art Institute. Wanambi believed in incorporating Aboriginal peoples at all levels of art exhibition, and his curatorial work with the Maḏayin exhibition project reflected his desire for Yolngu culture to be depicted the Yolngu way.

Awards

*1998: NATSIAA Awards – Best Bark *2003: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards – Highly Commended (3D Work) *2007: Togart Contemporary Art Award (NT) - Winner of Peoples Choice *2010: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards – Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award Telstra *2018: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards – Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award Telstra

Collections

MAGNT The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The headquarters of the museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of The Gardens. The MAGNT is governed by the Board of the Museum a ...

* ANMM *

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, Sydney, NSW * Harland Collection * Kerry Stokes Collection * NT Supreme Court-Wukidi * South Australian Art Gallery *

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

Art Gallery of NSW The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

* Holmes a Court Collection * Artbank * Manly Regional Gallery * Musee de Lyon France * Colin and Liz Laverty, Sydney *

Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA), formerly the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, is located on George Street in The Rocks neighbourhood of Sydney. The museum is housed in the Stripped Classical/Art Deco-styled former Maritime ...

, NSW *

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, UKWukun Wanambi Curriculum Vitae." Buku-Larrnggay Mulka: 2008. *

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia houses one of the finest Indigenous Australian art collections in the world, rivaling many of the collections held in Australia. It is the only museum outside Australia dedic ...

of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Significant exhibitions

* 1998

NATSIAA The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin ...

* 1998–2001 ''Saltwater'' * 2001 18th NATSIAA,

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The headquarters of the museum is located in the inner Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin suburb of The Gardens, Northern Territory, The ...

(MAGNT), Darwin * 2001 ''New from Old'', Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW. * 2002 19th NATSIAA, MAGNT, Darwin * 2003 Brighton International Art Festival UK * 2003 Larrakitj

Rebecca Hossack Rebecca Hossack (born October 1955), is an Australian-born London gallerist, who helped introduce Indigenous Australian art to a British audience. She is considered an expert on Aboriginal art, Australian Aboriginal culture and non-Western art tr ...

Gallery * 2003 20th NATSIAA, MAGNT, Darwin * 2004 Wukun Wanambi (first solo show) Raft 2, Darwin * 2005 Wukun Wanambi Niagara Galleries,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

* 2005 ''Yakumirri,'' Raft Artspace (exhibition purchased by the Holmes a Court collection) * 2005 22nd NATSIAA, MAGNT, Darwin * 2005 'Yåkumirri',

Holmes à Court Gallery The Holmes à Court Gallery is an art gallery in Western Australia. It has two locations—a gallery located in the original Vasse Felix winery at Cowaramup (near Margaret River) and another in West Perth. It is owned by Janet Holmes à Court. ...

, Perth ''Artbank: Celebrating 25 Years of Australian Art'' touring exhibition, nine regional galleries from

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

to Bathurst * 2006 TOGA NT Contemporary Art Award,

Parliament House, Darwin Parliament House in Darwin has been the seat of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 1994. Parliament House is located on State Square in the centre of Darwin, which is also the administrative centre of the Northern Territory law an ...

* 2006 Telstra NATSIAA * 2006 ''Walking together to aid Aboriginal Health'', Shalom College

UNSW The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public university, public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, ...

* 2006 ''Bulayi- Small Gems'', Suzanne O'Connell Gallery, Brisbane * 2006 'Arnhem Land Ochres', Mina Mina Art Gallery,

Brunswick Heads Brunswick Heads is a small town on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia in Byron Shire. At the , the town had a population of 1,737 people. History Originally inhabited by people of the Bundjalung nation, the Brunswick River wa ...

* 2007 Galuku Gallery, Festival of Darwin, NT * 2007 ''Bukulungthunmi - Coming Together, One Place'', Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT * 2008 ''Outside Inside - bark and hollow logs from Yirrkala'', Bett Gallery Hobart, Tas * 2008 ''Yarpany - Honey - bark paintings and Hollow Logs of the Marrakulu Clan,'' Framed Gallery, Darwin, NT * 2008 Gapan Gallery - Bendt Prints, Garma Festival Site, Gulkula, NT. * 2008 Galuku Gallery (Nomad Art Productions) - Berndt Prints,

Darwin Festival The Darwin Festival, founded as the Bougainvillea Festival in 1979 and named Festival of Darwin from 1996 to 2002, is an annual arts festival in Darwin, Northern Territory. It celebrates the multicultural aspects of the Northern Territory lifes ...

, Botanical Gardens, Darwin, NT * 2008, Wukun Wanambi - Niagara Galleries, Richmond, Vic * 2009 ''Larrakitj'' - Kerry Stokes Collection,

Art Gallery of Western Australia The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) is a public art gallery that is part of the Perth Cultural Centre, in Perth. It is located near the Western Australian Museum and State Library of Western Australia and is supported and managed by the ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, WA * 2009 ''After Berndt'' - Etchings from the Drawings, Indigenart Subiaco, WA * 2009–2010 ''Almanac: Australian Art from the Gift of Ann Lewis AO'',

, NSW * 2010 ''The White Show'', Short Street Gallery,

Broome, Western Australia Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru, Yawuru people, is a coastal Pearl hunting, pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,6 ...

* 2010 17th

Biennale of Sydney The Biennale of Sydney is an international festival of contemporary art, held every two years in Sydney, Australia. It is a large and well-attended contemporary visual arts event in the country. Alongside the Venice and São Paulo biennales and ...

, ''Larrakitj ''- the Kerry Stokes Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW * 2010 ''Returning to Djakapurra - A Collection of Poles and Barks from Yirrkala'', Redot Gallery, Singapore * 2010 27th NATSIAA, MAGNT, Darwin, NT - Winner 3D category * 2011 ''One Clan Three Hands'', Niagara Galleries, Melbourne Vic 2011 Telstra NATSIAA, MAGNT Darwin NT * 2011 Gapan Gallery, GARMA Festival, Northeast Arnhem Land, NT * 2012 Three, Chan Contemporary Art Space, Darwin NT 2013. Finalist West Australian Indigenous Art Awards * 2013 'Found' Annandale Galleries Sydney * 2013 Gapan Gallery, GARMA Festival, Northeast Arnhem Land, NT * 2014 Gapan Gallery, GARMA Festival, Northeast Arnhem Land, NT * 2015 NATSIAA, MAGNT * 2015 ''Enduring Civilisations'',

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, UK * 2015 Gapan Gallery GARMA Festival, Northeast Arnhem Land, NT * 2015 ''Revolution'', Nomad Art, Darwin NT * 2015 ''Yirrkala Mob, Bangarra Boards'', RAFT Art Space,

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

, NT * 2015 ''Unsettled'',

National Museum of Australia The National Museum of Australia (NMA), in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''Nation ...

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

* 2019–2020 ''The Inside World: Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Memorial Poles'',

Nevada Museum of Art The Nevada Museum of Art, is an art museum in Reno, Nevada. Located at 160 West Liberty Street in Reno, it is the only American Alliance of Museums (AAM) accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The museum has chosen a thematic approach, pl ...

and touring *2022-2025 ''Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala''.

Hood Museum of Art The Hood Museum of Art is an art museum owned and operated by Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The first reference to the development of an art collection at Dartmouth was in 1772, making the collection among the oldest and largest, a ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

;

American University Museum The American University Museum is located within the Katzen Arts Center at the American University in Washington, DC. History and description The American University Museum consists of a three-story, museum and sculpture garden. The region’s ...

at the

Katzen Arts Center The Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen Arts Center is home to all of the visual and performing arts programs at American University and the American University Museum. It is located at Ward Circle, the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Aven ...

;

Fralin Museum of Art The Fralin Museum of Art is an art museum at the University of Virginia. Before 2012, it was known as the University of Virginia Art Museum. It occupies the historic Thomas H. Bayly Building on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, Virginia, a short dis ...

at the

; and the

Asia Society The Asia Society is a 501(c)(3) organization that focuses on educating the world about Asia. It has several centers in the United States (Manhattan, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle) and around the world (Hong Ko ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Biography

Artwork

Curatorial practice

Awards

Collections

Significant exhibitions

Footnotes

References

Further reading