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Ginger Riley Munduwalawala

Ginger Riley Munduwalawala (c.1936 – 1 September 2002) was an Aboriginal Australian contemporary artist. He was born incountry, in the Limmen Bight area of the Gulf of Carpentaria coast. His first language was Marra,[4] now a critically endangered language. In the 1950s, Riley began working as a stockman and laborer on the Nutwood Downs Station and other establishments in the Northern Territory.[5] During his time as a stockman, Riley encountered the work of Albert Namatjira, a renowned watercolorist from the Western Aranda community. This encounter left a profound impact on Riley, eventually prompting him to explore painting with acrylics; the opportunity did not arise until years later.[6] In 1987, the Northern Territory Education Department began providing painting workshops in Ngukurr, where Riley had been residing since the late-1970s.[6] Participating alongside fellow Ngukurr artists Willie Gudabi and Djambu Barra Barra, Riley entered the Aboriginal art scene. These workshops served as the catalyst for Riley's distinguished career.[7]

Ginger Riley Munduwalawala
Borncirca 1936 (1936)
Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
Died1 September 2002 (aged 65–66)
Borroloola, Northern Territory, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Known forPainting
Awards

Riley was known for his distinctive style of using bright palette to paint a landscape of Gulf of Carpentaria, populated by mythological figures who created the region.[3] His art is a fusion of "Aboriginal" and "contemporary".[8] He was referred to as "the boss of colour" by Australian artist and his friend, David Larwill.[9] [10]Munduwalawala's work is recognizable for its distinctive landscape style.[11] He is remembered for working with whole visual composition, mixing and layering paint, and experimenting with different colors and effect. [12]

Riley was awarded the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 1987, the Northern Territory's Alice Prize in 1992, John McCaughey Memorial Art Prize in 1993,[3] the first National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Art Award in 1993[13] and an Australia Council Fellowship for 1997/98.[1]

The National Gallery of Victoria held a 10-year retrospective of his work in 1997. It was the first time a public institution in Australia honoured a living Aboriginal artist in this way.[1][14]

Visual Iconography edit

Aside from the adventurous use of color, Riley’s works are also characteristic of unique iconography, depicting events that took place in his mother’s country – the coastal saltwater country of the Mara people.

In Riley’s depiction of creation stories, Garimala is a salient theme. It is the double form of Bandian, the King Brown snake of the species Pseudechis australis. Although in Munduwalawala's work it looks as though they are two snakes, the Garimala is one entity.[15] They are often depicted as arching to face each other above the Four Archers or in heraldic symmetry on either side of a shark’s liver tree. Two other forms of transformations it shows include the Rainbow Serpent Wawalu as it traveled from the Four Archers to the rock Ngamiyukandji in the Limmen Bight River, and its metamorphosis into Bulukbun, the angry, fire-breathing serpent.

The Ngak Ngak, the white-breasted sea eagle, is one of the most central images in Riley’s works. The Ngak Ngak often appeared in profile as a guardian image in Riley’s paintings, looking over the country and protecting it. [10] Ngak Ngak created an island near the mouth of Limmnen Bright River when flying over it, this is called Beatrice island or Yarramadji (shark, his mothers totem). [16]

Significant Exhibitions edit

Ginger Riley: The Boss of Colour 2015 [17] Country and Western: Landscape Reimagined.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Death of Mr Ginger Riley Munduwalawala" (PDF). JOURNALS OF THE SENATE. No. 31. TUESDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2002. THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA. 17 September 2002. pp. 737–738. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 September 2006.
  2. ^ "The Alice Prize - past winners and judges". The Alice Prize. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Ginger Riley Archived 2 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, by Grace and Tamara
  4. ^ Ryan, J., Riley, G., & National Gallery of Victoria. (1997). Ginger Riley. Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria.
  5. ^ "Ginger Riley, b. 1937". National Portrait Gallery people. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Ginger Riley Munduwalawala | Art Gallery of NSW". www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  7. ^ Bowdler, Cath (November 2011). "Luminous Bones, Djambu Barra Barra and the devil devil". Retrieved 04/28/2024. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ^ Hossack, Rebecca (9 September 2002). "Ginger Riley Munduwalawala - Aboriginal artist with a highly individual style". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  9. ^ Ginger Riley, the 'boss of colour', dies, by Larissa Dubecki, September 3, 2002
  10. ^ a b Ryan, Judith (2009). "'Different from other mob' : Ginger Riley Munduwalawala". Colour Country : art from Roper River. Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. pp. 38–45.
  11. ^ Bowdler, Cath (2009). Colour Country: Art from Roper River (1 ed.). Wagga Wagga Art Gallery. p. 38. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  12. ^ 8
  13. ^ Hill, Robert (8 April 1998). "Australian Heritage Commission sponsoring major indigenous art awards". Parlinfo. Press release. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. ^ Ginger Riley Munduwalawala, Biography, National Gallery of Victoria
  15. ^ 8
  16. ^ 8
  17. ^ "Ginger Riley: The Boss of Colour". Castlemaine Art Museum. Retrieved 22 April 2024.

Further reading edit

External links edit


 

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