Wukun Wanambi | |
---|---|
Born | 1962 Gurka'wuy, East Arnhem NT, Australia |
Died | 1 May 2022 | (aged 59–60)
Nationality | Australian |
Known for | Artist |
Parent |
|
Wukun Wanambi (1962 – 1 May 2022) was an Australian Yolngu painter, filmmaker and curator of the Marrakulu clan of northeastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
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. [1]
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. [2] 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. [3] [4] [note 1]
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 poles, or larrakitj. [5] He also made prints at the Bulka-Larrrŋgay Mulka Centre. [6] He was the Cultural Director of the Mulka Project, the media centre in Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka. [7] 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. [8] 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. [8]
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. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11] This was Wanambi's first time working as a curator. [12] In 2018 he served as curatorial consultant on the exhibition MIwatj at the La Trobe Art Institute. [13] 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.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (April 2024) |
Wukun Wanambi | |
---|---|
Born | 1962 Gurka'wuy, East Arnhem NT, Australia |
Died | 1 May 2022 | (aged 59–60)
Nationality | Australian |
Known for | Artist |
Parent |
|
Wukun Wanambi (1962 – 1 May 2022) was an Australian Yolngu painter, filmmaker and curator of the Marrakulu clan of northeastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.
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. [1]
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. [2] 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. [3] [4] [note 1]
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 poles, or larrakitj. [5] He also made prints at the Bulka-Larrrŋgay Mulka Centre. [6] He was the Cultural Director of the Mulka Project, the media centre in Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka. [7] 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. [8] 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. [8]
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. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11] This was Wanambi's first time working as a curator. [12] In 2018 he served as curatorial consultant on the exhibition MIwatj at the La Trobe Art Institute. [13] 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.
This section needs additional citations for
verification. (April 2024) |