John MAWURNDJUL - Kandakidj Red Kangaroo
ADG: 1549
DescriptionADG:1549
John (Johnny) MAWURNDJUL
Kandakidj - Red Kangaroo, 1997
68 x 46cm
Ochre (natural earth pigment) on bark (stringybark Eucalyptus tetrodonta)
John Mawurndjul - Biography
Born 1952
Skin name Balang/Duwa
Birth place Maningrida
Region Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
Language Kunwinjku
Medium Ochres on cotton rag paper, ochres on bark, carved and painted wooden sculpture, etchings
Dreamings Common subjects are ngalyod (rainbow serpent), namarrkon (lightning), mother's country (kakodbebuldi), water and sacred objects under water, yawkyawk (female mermaid spirits), ngalyod (attacking human ancestor beings), various fish species including saratoga, freshwater longtom, catfish, barramundi and sooty grunter fish; black wallaroo, antilopine kangaroo, Kandakidj - red-kangaroo, mardayin (ceremony themes), crow dreaming at Kurrurldul, buluwana (woman killed by the death adder), wayarra (spirit beings), trainsformational rainbow serpents (as buffalo and other species), crocodiles
John Mawurndjul is a well-known Kunwinjku artist from Maningrida in Western Arnhem Land. He was taught to paint by his brother Jimmy Njiminjuma and his uncle Peter Marralwanga. His early work depicted his totem animals and mythological beings in rarrk designs (cross hatching).
Mawurndjul’s recent work has centred on more abstract Mardayin themes, a ceremony he was initiated into early in life with connections to important places in his clan lands, exploring new ways to express land, water and spirituality. Mawurndjul’s work is included in the Musée du quai Branly, Paris, as well as major international and national art institutions.
Solo Exhibitions
2007 John Mawurndjul, Cornice Art Fair, Venice, Italy
2006 Solo Show, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2004 John Mawurundjul, Annadale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2002 Kabarlekidyo to Milmilngkan, John Mawurndjul's Country, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1999 John Mawurndjul, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
1998 John Mawurndjul: recent works from Mimilngkan, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1995 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
1994 Savode Gallery, Brisbane
1993 Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne
Group Exhibitions
2008 Palya Art at Mary Place, Mary Place, Sydney, NSW
2008 Spirit in variation Part 2, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2008 Gifted: New to the Griffith University Art Collection, Griffith University, QLD
2007 Spirit in Variation, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2007 Culture Warriors, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
2007 Rarrk - London-, Bargehouse Gallery, London, UK
2007 After the Wet, Maningrida Arts and Culture, Darwin, NT
2006 Proof Contemporary Australian Printmaking, NGV, Melbourne, VIC
2006 Australian Aboriginal Art 2006/2007, John Gordon Gallery, Coffs Harbour, NSW
2006 Mumeka to Milmilngkan, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT
2006 Maningrida, Short St Gallery, Broome, WA
2006 New prints from Maningrida, MAC, Darwin, NT
2006 A survey show from Maningrida, Raft Artspace, Darwin, NT
2006 Peintures sur ecorce de Maningrida, African Muse Gallery, Paris, France
2006 Dream tracks, Aboriginal art of Arnhem Land, La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain
2006 Sculptures from Maningrida, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
2005 Rarrk, flowing on from Crossing Country, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2005 New works from Maningrida, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
2005 Pais-Djinkarr- Milmilngkan, Maningrida Arts and Culture, Darwin, NT
2005 Aboriginal Vision in Contemporary Australian Art, Wright exhibition space, Seattle, USA
2005 Lorrkons and spirit figures from Maningrida, Aboriginal and Pacific Art, Sydney, NSW
2004 New etchings from Mimilngkan, Aboriginal and Pacific Arts, Sydney, NSW
2004 Maningrida print show, Maningrida Arts and Culture, Darwin, NT
2004 Crossing Country: the Alchemy of Western Arnhem Land Art, AGNSW, Sydney, NSW
2004 Maningrida Burial Poles, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
2004 Hollow logs from Maningrida, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
2004 Kokok-older brothers from the Kurulk clan, Aboriginal and Pacific Art Gallery, NSW
2003 Works on paper, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2003 The Visit, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2003 Moon, Short St. Gallery, in conjunction with ArtHouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
2003 Maningrida Threads, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
2003 Mythological beings from Maningrida, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
2002 Kuninjku Show, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2002 NATSIA, 19th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2002 East and West, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2001 18th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2001 Arnhem Land Carvings and Bark Paintings, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney
2001 Outside in: Research Engagements with Arnhem Land Art, Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra
2001 In the Heart of Arnhem Land - myth and the making of contemporary Aboriginal Art, Musee del l'Hotel-Dieu,Mantes-la-Jolie, France
2001 MAC Unpacked, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
2000 Transitions: 17 years of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award,
Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
2000 Aboriginal Art in modern worlds, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
2000 Aboriginal bark paintings, sculptures & hollow logs, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
2000 Biennale of Sydney 2000, various venues at various locations
2000 Maningrida, Framed Gallery, Darwin
1999 Fighting for Culture, Indigenart, Perth
1999 Aboriginal Art in Modern Worlds, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT; toured to State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia
1999 My Country: Australische Aboriginal Kunst, Brandweer Kazerne, Utrecht, Netherlands
1999 16th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Campbelltown, NSW
1999 The Memorial: A Masterpiece of Aboriginal Art, Musee Olympique, Lausanne, Switzerland
1999 Spinifex Runner: a collection of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fibre Art, Campbelltown, NSW
1998 Sixth Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
1998 a material thing: objects from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
1996 Eye of the Storm, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
1996 Dreaming: Aboriginal Art from Australia, Galerie Kouwenhoven, Delft, Netherlands
1995 12th National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1995 Stories My Parents Sang, National Maritime Museum, Sydney
1994 Power of the Land: Masterpieces of Aboriginal Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1994 Art of the Rainbow Snake, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1994 Gemaltes Land: Kunst der Aborigines aus Arnhem Land Australien, Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Germany
1994 Maningrida Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
1993 Artjara: Art of the First Australian, Touring: Kunstammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf; Hayward Gallery, London; Louisiana Museum, Humlebaek, Denmark; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1993 The Tenth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1993 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, Parliament House Art Collection
1992 Crossroads: Towards a New Reality: Aboriginal Art from Australia, National Museums of Modern Art, Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan
1992 The Ninth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1991 Flash Pictures, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
1991 The Speaking Land and Sea, Australian National Maritime Museum,. Sydney
1991 Canvas and Bark, South Australian Museum, Adelaide
1990 Keepers of the Secret: Aboriginal Art from Arnhem Land, Art Gallery of Western Australia
1990 l'ete Australien, Montpellier Musee Fabre Gallery, Montpellier, France
1990 Painted Ship, Painted Oceans, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1990 Spirit in Land: Bark Paintings from Arnhem Land, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
1990 Contemporary Aboriginal Art 1990 from Australia, Third Eye Centre, Glasgow, Scotland;
toured to Swansea and Manchester UK
1989 Aboriginal Art: the continuing tradition, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
1989 Kunwinjku, Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne
1989 Magiciens de la Terre, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
1989 The Sixth National Aboriginal Art Award Exhibition, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1989 Recent Works from Maningrida and Ramingining, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney
1988 Dreamings: the Art of Aboriginal Australia, the Asia Galleries, New York, USA
1988 Gunwinggu Artists, Beaufort Convention Centre, Darwin
1986 The Art of the First Australians, Kobe City Museum, Japan
1982 Aboriginal Art at the Top. Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Awards
2003 Winner of the Clemenger Contemporary Art Prize, National Gallery of Victoria
2002 Telstra Bark Painting Award, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award,
Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1999 Telstra Bark Painting Award, National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award,
Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
1991 Professional Development Grant, Australia Council for the Arts, Aboriginal Arts Unit
1988 First prize, Barunga Festival Art Exhibition, Barunga, NT
1988 Rothmans Foundation Award (best painting in a traditional medium), National Aboriginal Art Award, Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Collections
Aimee Proost Private Collections, QLD
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, WA
Artbank, Sydney, NSW
Ballart Fine Art Gallery, VIC
British Museum, London, UK
Charles Darwin University Art Collection
Djomi Museum, Maningrida, NT
Kluge Collection, Morven estate, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Laverty Collection, Sydney, NSW
Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Museum of Contemporary Art, Maningrida Collection, Sydney, NSW
National gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW
Parliament House Art Collection, Canberra, ACT
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA
The Holmes a Court Collection, Perth, WA
Wolonia Aboriginal Art, Netherlands
Bibliography
Art Gallery of NSW, a material thing: objects from the collection, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 1999
Australian Commercial Galleries Association, Australian Contemporary Art Fair: ACAF Vol. 1, Melbourne
Caruana, W., Aboriginal Art - World of Art, London: Thames and Hudson, 1993
Caruana, W., Windows on the dreaming: Aboriginal paintings from the collection of the
Australian National Gallery, Chippendale, David Ell Press, Sydney, 1989
Cooke, P., Altman, J.C., and Maningrida Arts and Crafts, Aboriginal Art at the Top: a regional exhibition, Maningrida Arts and Crafts, 1982
Garde, M., John Mawurndjul, John Bulunbulun, Edited by Maningrida Arts & Culture,
Annandale Galleries, Sydney, 1997
Heermann, I., Menter, U., & Linden-Museum Stuttgart, Gemaltes Land: Kunst der Aborigines aus
Arnhemland, Australien, Berlind: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 1994
Hogarth Gallery, Arnhem Land Carvings and Bark Paintings, Sydney: Hogarth Gallery, 2001
Issacs, J., Australia's Living Heritage: arts of the dreaming, Sydney: Lansdowne, 1984
Kobe City Museum, The Art of the First Australians, Kobe Japan: 1986
Kohen, A., Garde, M., Ryan, J., Jursak, I. and Peltier, P., In the heart of Arnhem Land: myth and the making of contemporary Aboriginal Art, Mantes-la-Jolie, France: Musee del
l'Hotel-Dieu, 2001
Luthi, B., Lee, G., & Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Aratjara - Art of the First Australians: traditional and contemporary works by Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Artists, Kolin: Dumont, 1993
Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Telstra presents Transitions: 17 years of the National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Darwin: 2000
Museum of Contemporary Art, MCA Unpacked, Sydney: 2001
McDonald, E., Oakley, R., And Art Gallery of NSW, Biennale of Sydney 2000: 12th Biennale of Sydney 26 May - 30 July 2000, Sydney: Biennale of Sydney Ltd, 2000
Moon, D., Spinifex Runner: a collection of contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Fibre Art, Campbelltown, Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, 1999
Morphy, H., Aboriginal Art: Art & Ideas, London: Phaidon, 1998
Morphy, H., Altman, J.C., Morphy, F., Lendon. N., & Drill Hall Gallery, Outside in: research
engagements with Arnhem Land Art, Camberra: Drill Hall Gallery, 2001
Murphy, B., in Comtemporary Australian Painting, E. Chanin (Ed.), Sydney: Craftsman
House, 1990
Musee Olympique (Lausanne Switzerland), National Gallery of Australia, Olympic Arts Festival,
Le Memorial:un chef-d'oeuvre d'art aborigene=The memorial: a masterpiece of
Aboriginal art, Lausanne: Musee Olympique, 1999
National Gallery of Australia, Developing the collection: new acquisitions 1997-99,
Canberra: NGA, 1999
National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Australia: an introduction to the collection,
Canberra, NGA, 1998
National Gallery of Australia, A. Quaill, Marking our times: selected works of art from the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection at the National Gallery of Australia,
Canberra, 1996
Pizzi, G., and Palazzo Papadopoli Metamorphosis: contemporary Australian Aboriginal
photography and sculpture, Melbourne: Gabrielle Prizze, 1997
Smith, T., Third Eye Centre & Aboriginal Arts Management Association, Contemporary
Aboriginal Art 1990 from Australia, Redfern: Aboriginal Arts Management Association, 1990
Taylor, I., Seeing the Inside: Bark Painting in Western Arnhem Land, Oxford: Clarendon Press 1996
