David Malangi | National Museum of Australia

Manharrŋu clan, Manyarrŋu language, Dhuwa moiety

Black and white portrait of a man posing next to an artwork. - click to view larger image — David Malangi

1927–1999

Malangi was one of the great artists of his generation. He was among the first Aboriginal artists to be selected for the Sydney Biennale, in 1979 – and for Australian Perspecta, in 1983, the year he also appeared in the XVII Biennale of São Paulo, Brazil. He participated in several major international exhibitions, including: Dreamings in New York in 1988; Aratjara, which toured Europe in 1993–94; and Galerie des Cinq Continents in Paris in 1995.

Malangi was one of the driving forces behind The Aboriginal Memorial (1988) at the National Gallery of Australia. In 1996 he received an honorary doctorate from the Australian National University. The National Gallery mounted a major retrospective exhibition, No Ordinary Place: The Art of David Malangi, in 2004.

Paintings in the exhibition

A bark painting worked with ochres on bark. It depicts a male human figure with outstretched hands. Above each hand is a long-necked bird with an insect above on the left. There is a yellow plant on the man's left and at his feet a yellow snake with coloured dots. The painting has a red background on the right and a pattern of curved white lines on red on the right. - click to view larger image — *The Dead Gurrmirriŋu*

A bark painting worked with ochres on bark. It features a central tree with a thin black trunk supporting leafy branches. Underneath there are ten black figures with brown and white line designs, a snake and a number of oval shapes.The painting has a red background with a double white line around two sides and a horizontal striped band at the lower edge. - click to view larger image — *The Manharrŋu Mortuary Rites*

A bark painting worked with ochres on bark. It depicts a spirit painted in yellow with a red snake in the lower right hand corner and a black tree with white fruit or flowers in the upper right hand corner. The painting has a red background on the left and on the right a pattern of curved white lines on red. - click to view larger image — *Tree Spirit*

A bark painting worked with ochres on bark. It depicts a file snake on the left with a water goanna superimposed on a kangaroo in the centre. There is a tree on the right. The painting has a red background. - click to view larger image — *Totems of the Manharrŋu, Mortuary Rites*

A bark painting worked with ochres on bark. It depicts a central waterhole painted in black with coloured dots.This is surrounded by plants, roots, fish, a snake, a goanna, an emu, a wallaby and birds. These are painted in black, white, yellow and red.The long sides of the bark curve outwards. The painting has a red background. - click to view larger image — *Waterhole Life*

All these bark paintings are part of the National Museum of Australia’s collection. © the artist or the artist’s estate, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency 2013, unless otherwise specified. These images must not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Top