Deutscher and Hackett

Dhambit Munuŋgurr was born in 1968 in north-east Arnhem Land, where she now lives and works. Munuŋgurr comes from an extraordinarily rich artistic genealogy. Her grandfather, Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu (c.1904 – 1979), was an artist and contributor to the legendary 1963 Yirrkala Church Panels; and her father, Mutitjpuy Munuŋgurr, and mother, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, were both celebrated Aboriginal artists, each having won first prizes at the Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Awards. Emulating her forefathers’ great success, Munuŋgurr was a first prize recipient, awarded the 2021 Telstra Bark Painting Award for her work Bees at Gängän.
 
In an effort to overcome the difficulty of grinding ochre by hand, which became beyond her capability after being hit by a car in 2007, Munuŋgurr introduced non-traditional colours to her oeuvre when she began painting with acrylic paint. Munuŋgurr initially echoed the traditional Yolŋu palette by working in orange, red, yellow and black acrylics, sometimes including green in her work for trees. However, around 2019, Munuŋgurr introduced blue to her work, choosing it because “the earth is blue, the sky is blue and the sea is blue”,¹ and since, has settled on a vivid array of blues for her paintings. Munuŋgurr’s distinct brushstroke and her compelling juxtaposition of contemporary materials and traditional stories construct an unexpected signature style.

1. ‘Dhambit Munuŋgurr: Ocean, 2019’, Madayin: Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, Virginia, USA, https://madayin.kluge-ruhe.org/experience/pieces/banhdharra-ocean/ (accessed February 2025)