Bunjil Place - John Mawurndjul

Bunjil Place presents John Mawurndjul: I Am the Old and the New

Bunjil Place is delighted to present a survey of works by one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists – master bark painter John Mawurndjul from Tuesday 24 November 2020 until Sunday 17 January 2021. Developed and co-presented by the MCA and Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), in association with Maningrida Arts & Culture, this landmark touring exhibition includes over 50 works, spanning forty years of the artist’s practice.

John Mawurndjul AM is celebrated for his mastery of rarrk (cross-hatching) and his depiction
of djang (sacred sites), a tradition shared by generations of Kuninjku artists. Bark paintings and sculptures drawn from private and public collections across the world tell the stories of Kuninjku culture and the significant locations surrounding the artist’s home in central north Arnhem Land.

John Mawurndjul: I am the old and the new was co-curated by Clothilde Bullen (Senior Curator, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Collections and Exhibitions, MCA), Natasha Bullock (former Senior Curator, MCA), Nici Cumpston (Artistic Director, TARNANTHI Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art) and Dr Lisa Slade (Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, Art Gallery of South Australia), with Keith Munro (Curator, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Programs, MCA) as lead Cultural Advisor; in close collaboration with John Mawurndjul AM, Kay Lindjuwanga, Ananais Jawulba and Maningrida Arts & Culture staff: Michelle Culpitt, Zebedee Bonson and Derek Carter; and interpreter/translator Dr Murray Garde.