Overview

Peter Marralwanga (1916-1987) was a leading figure in one of the great art practices of the world. He grew up in western Arnhem Land surrounded by artists painting in rock shelters and he learned to paint this way himself. The subjects of his paintings were the Djang who made his country and placed the spirits of people within it. Marralwanga's story highlights the way bark painting became important as a way of evading assimilation policies rife within Northern Territory towns. Marralwanga established an outstation at Marrkolidjban where he could teach his children how to properly care for Ancestral lands, with part of this care involving a knowledge of how to paint. As a senior person who had travelled widely in his youth, and gained extensive ceremonial knowledge, Marralwanga was highly influential among a broad group of painters. Ivan Namirrkki, a painter of note and Peter Marralwanga's son, has provided here his own account of his father's life. This book tracks Marralwanga's life of learning about country and conveys the religious meaning of numerous major works, offering outsiders a richer understanding and appreciation of Arnhem Land art. It also shows the crucial role of individuals working for the community arts cooperative Maningrida Arts and Culture in facilitating Maralwanga's rise to recognition as a major Australian and world artist. Extensively illustrated, Peter Marralwanga: Painter of the Djang of western Arnhem Land, is a study of unique knowledge and beauty.

Full Product Details

9781760467197

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Reviews

""There are only a handful of studies that give such brilliant, in-depth, serious analysis of an individual Aboriginal Australian artist's life and work. The combination of genealogical, cultural and thematic analysis is superb."" - Dr Henry Skerritt, University of Virginia ""Australia's foremost expert on the bark art of West Arnhem Land provides an exceptional biography of the complex cultural life and oeuvre of the late Peter Marralwanga. This is at once highly accessible, superbly illustrated, well researched and highly collaborative. It is an important resource for art historians, anthropologists and most importantly regional audiences of Aboriginal (Bininj) people determined to maintain the bark painting tradition that is so central to their livelihood and identity"". - Emeritus Professor Jon Altman, The Australian National University

Author Information

Dr Luke Taylor is an anthropologist who has worked in western Arnhem Land since 1981, mainly with the Aboriginal artists of the region. Luke was a Senior Curator at the National Museum of Australia, Canberra, from 1991 to 2000, and Director of Research and then Deputy Principal of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in the period 2000 - 2013. He has published broadly on Aboriginal art and contributed to numerous exhibitions of western Arnhem Land bark paintings, including Crossing Country, curated by Hetti Perkins for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, John Mawurndjul Journey Through Time in Northern Australia, Museum Tinguely, Basel, and Old Masters Australia's Great Bark Artists for the National Museum of Australia. Kuninjku artist Ivan Namirrkki was born in 1961. Namirrkki was taught to paint by his father, Peter Marralwanga (1917-1987) - a renowned bark painter and political proponent of the maintenance of Country. Namirrkki began exhibiting his work in the early 1980s and has been presented in numerous group and solo shows over the years, both in Australia and overseas. In 2006, he was a finalist in the National Gallery of Victoria's Clemenger Contemporary Art Prize. Namirrkki's art can be found in many collections, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of South Australia.

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