Dhambit Mununggurr (born 1968) is an Yolngu artist known for unique ultramarine blue bark paintings inspired by natural landscapes and Yolngu stories and legends. Her father Mutitjpuy Mununggurr and mother Gulumbu Yunupingu were both celebrated Aboriginal artists, each having won first prizes at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torress Strait Islander Awards (NATSIAA). After a vehicular accident in 2005, Mununggurr was severely injured, but returned to painting in 2010.

Biography

Dhambit Mununggurr was born in 1968 to Mutitjpuy Mununggurr (1932-1993) and Gulumbu Yunupingu (1945–2012). Her father was the first artist to win the award with a bark painting (''Djang'kawu'') in 1990, and her mother won the award in 2004 for her work ''Garak, the Universe''. Her father was one of the members of the Dhuwa moiety who contributed to the Yirrkala Church Panels (which would lead to the creation of the

Yirrkala bark petitions The Yirrkala bark petitions, sent by the Yolngu people, an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, to the Australian Parliament in 1963, were the first traditional documents prepared by Indigenous Australians that ...

of 1963), and served as a great inspiration for Mununggurr. In 2004, Mununggurr became the first Yolngu woman to graduate as a tour guide in

Yirrkala Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly Aboriginal Australians of the ...

. In 2005, Mununggurr was hit by a truck, leaving her needing a wheelchair and unable to use her right hand to paint. Before the accident, she had begun painting in 2004, and was credited in the film ''

Yolngu Boy ''Yolngu Boy'' is a 2001 Australian coming-of-age film directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, produced by Patricia Edgar, Gordon Glenn, Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Mandawuy Yunupingu, and starring Sean Mununggurr, John Sebastian Pilakui, and Nathan ...

'' (2000). Her recovery consisted of a Western treatment and traditional healing practices, and she entered an intensive rehabilitation program in 2011 at Epworth Rehabilitation in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. When returning to painting in 2010, she trained herself to paint with her non-dominant left hand with her condition slowly improving. Her favouring of blue acrylics was an effect of the accident, with NATSIAA curators agreeing she could no longer grind traditional ochres used for bark painting with her limited dexterity in her right hand. Her work was acquired by

Artbank Artbank is an art rental program established in 1980 by the Australian Government. It supports contemporary Australian artists and encourages a wider appreciation of their work by buying artworks which it then rents to public and private sector ...

in 2018 in a collection which details Mununggurr's life and her familial ties. At the top, her maternal grandfather Mungurrawuy Yunupingu is pictured, and further down her uncles Galarrwuy and Mandawuy are shown. Her mother, Gulumbu Yunupingu, is represented through the stars which show what she had painted on the ceiling of the Musee du Quai Branly in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Lastly, Dhambit herself is represented as a monolithic rock on

Elcho Island Elcho Island, known to its traditional owners as Galiwin'ku (Galiwinku) is an island off the coast of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located at the southern end of the Wessel Islands group located in the East Arnhem ...

Collections

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 dedica ...

of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

Significant exhibitions

* ''Mirdawarr Dhulan,'' Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (2011) **Mununggurr's first solo exhibition was named after her experience driving through remnants of burnt-out forest around King Lake with her partner Tony where she noticed green shoots sprouting from burned trees. The title refers to the "land after fire" and the "regrowth after fire." * ''Gaybada - My Father was an Artist,'' Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (2015) **Mununggurr's second solo exhibition is inspired by her father Mutitjpuy Mununggurr. It features vibrant bark paintings in

larrakitj 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 and Bininj peoples of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Aus ...

(hollow poles), and credits her father as the driving force behind her art. *** *''Provenance Does Matter - Living with Contemporary Art,'' Alcaston Gallery at Gallery 369, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia (2016) **This exhibition featured contemporary photography, video, paintings, ceramics, and sculptures. Other artists featured include

Naomi Hobson Naomi Hobson (born 1979) is an Aboriginal Australian artist of southern Kaantju and Umpila heritage from Lockhart River, Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. She works in many media, including painting, photography and ceramics. She started exhib ...

, Nonggirrnga Marawili, Angela Tiatia, Judy Holding, Dean Smith, and Greg Semu. *''Can We All Have A Happy Life'', National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Victoria, Australia (2019-2020) **This installation consisted of 15 bark paintings and nine larrakitj. NGV director Tony Ellwood commented on her work saying, "It's a story about coming out of adversity after a severe accident... It's profoundly beautiful." ***

Biography

Collections

Significant exhibitions

References

Further reading