Dhambit Munuŋgurr
Welcoming the refugees / Scott Morrison and the treasurer, 2020–21
Dhambit is the daughter of two winners of the Telstra Art Award, Mutjpuy Munuŋgurr and Gulumbu Yunupiŋu. Her grandfathers Woŋgu and Muŋgurrawuy were also legendary leaders and artists. In 2007, Dhambit was hit by a car and suffered serious head injuries which were life threatening. She uses art to rehabilitate herself, paints with her non-preferred left hand and since 2019 has made blue the dominant colour of her palette.
Given that women across Arnhem Land rarely painted on bark for most of the twentieth century, this provocative diptych by Dhambit demonstrates the continuity and adaptability of Yolŋu art across time, and its strong contemporary relevance.
In a pointed response to Australia’s refugee policy Dhambit’s Scott Morrison and the treasurer shows Yolŋu pushing Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg out to sea in a canoe from Yirrkala beach; whereas Welcoming the refugees represents refugees from unspecified countries approaching the shore. They are escorted by the sharks of the artist’s Djapu clan, while passing the Warramiri icon Ŋarrpiya (Octopus), symbolic of the metamorphic nature of the deep ocean. The shoreline is covered with Gama'ta (seaweed), symbolising the aqueous flames of Munuŋgurr’s mother’s clan, the Gumatj. The newcomers are processed to the ceremonial site of the Crocodile's nest Ŋulwurr. They join the Gumatj clan at this foundational site emblazoned with diamonds, symbolising fire.
- Artist / Maker
- Dhambit Munuŋgurr (1968)
- Creation Date
- 2021
- Place created
- Australia - Arnhem Land
- Collection
- University Art Collection
- Subjects
- Art and Design - Paintings
- Materials used
- Earth pigments and acrylic on bark
- Dimensions
(H x W x D) - overall 260 x 212 cm left panel 241 x 110 cm right panel 260 x 102 cm
- Credit line
- The University of Melbourne Art Collection. Purchased through the Margaret Cooper Bequest Fund, 2021
- Accession number
- 2021.0008.001.002
- Copyright
- © Courtesy of the artist and Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney Request Access
