KNOWN: Marrnyula Munuŋgurr is one volume in a landmark publication series dedicated to contemporary Indigenous Australian artists, tracing the life, country, and meticulously crafted bark paintings of a senior Yolŋu artist and printmaker from Arnhem Land.
About This Book
Part of the KNOWN series — conceived to promote First Nations voices and foster cross-cultural dialogue between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and writers — this volume focuses on Marrnyula Munuŋgurr, a senior artist and printmaker based at the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, since the 1980s. Raised in a family of prolific artists, Munuŋgurr is recognised for her vast installations of small, meticulously painted and arranged barks. The book weaves documentation of her artworks with records of her life on country, situating her practice within both community and international contemporary Indigenous Australian art contexts. A major scholarly text and an artist interview — translated into Yolŋu Matha — make this a rare bilingual primary resource.
Key Features
- 96 pages of artwork documentation, scholarly essay, and artist interview translated into Yolŋu Matha language
- Major text by Maia Nuku, Evelyn A. J. Hall and John A. Friede Curator for Oceanic Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Published by Perimeter Editions, 2020
What You'll Discover
- How Munuŋgurr's installations of small painted barks function as both cultural knowledge and spatial practice, shaped by decades of working on country in Arnhem Land
- The role of the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in sustaining and amplifying Yolŋu artistic traditions on national and international stages
- Maia Nuku's curatorial and scholarly framework for understanding Munuŋgurr's work in relation to Oceanic art histories and contemporary Indigenous Australian art
- The KNOWN series' commitment to bilingual publication — the artist interview appears in both English and Yolŋu Matha, affirming language as inseparable from artistic and cultural identity
About the Author
This volume is edited by Agency Projects and features a major text by Maia Nuku, who holds the position of Evelyn A. J. Hall and John A. Friede Curator for Oceanic Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Nuku is a leading scholar and curator in the field of Oceanic and Indigenous art.
Specifications
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 96
- Dimensions: 272 x 197 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781922545411
- Publisher: Perimeter Editions
- Publication Date: 2020
Perfect For: Curators, artists, and scholars working with First Nations art and cultural practice; designers and researchers interested in bark painting traditions; institutions and educators building collections in contemporary Indigenous Australian art.