Ngarra (me)

Label

The bright orange of this print’s background strongly contrasts with the gray, brown, and white of the individuals. The care put into the outlining of the figures and detailing of the background indicates the artist’s love of the subjects, though the context remains unclear. In this series of self-portraits, whom might this print be depicting? How might our loved ones affect our understanding of ourselves?

Munuŋgurritj took to artmaking at a young age in the company of artists on both sides of her family. The Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, a community art center founded by Yirrkala artists, propelled her development as an artist through its print workshops for struggling or otherwise neglected youths, which emphasized the importance of community in the art-making process and perhaps influenced this unconventional self-portrait.

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 121, Across Oceans: Indigenous Solidarity Throughout Pasifika and Beyond, Kaitlyn Anderson '24, Conroy Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 2 – December 21, 2024.

Provenance

Will Owen (1952-2015) and Harvey Wagner (1931-2017), Chapel Hill, North Carolina; given to present collection, 2016.

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Subjects