Name: Terry Murunkurr Murray
Language: Walmajarri
Community: Bayulu
Biography:
My Name is Murungkurr Terry Murray and i am a Walmajarri Man. I lived on Cherrabun Station in a tin shelter. My family had no vehicle so they went hunting on foot. Murungkurr has a strong grounding in bush skills which he learnt from his parents.
He paints his jaja [grandfather - Pater Skipper] and japi’s [grandmother’s] country, called Wirnpa and Japingka. It is the southwestern side of the Great Sandy Desert. This is jila [permanent waterhole] country. His mother and brothers lived around there when they were kids.
Murungkurr has strong family connections to a significant group of Mangkaja artists and knows his law and family relationships through his skin group. He explains, “Our culture is an everyday learning thing. I grew up with this. You have to have a strong mind and strong spirit and soul and always listen to your elders”. His father, Peter Skipper was both an important artist as well as being a cultural leader for the Ngurrara Canvas from Walmajarri country in the Great Sandy Desert. Additionally, artists Jimmy Nerrimah and Mona Chuguna, Paji Honeychild and Cory Surprise are all close family members.
In 1997, Terry was the youngest painter alongside his elders on the Ngurrara Canvas. This incredibly important work was used in the Native Title Determination for the Walmajarri people.
With respect of the elders past and present and the four language groups, Terry is currently leading management of the Ngurrara Canvas in cooperation with the Ngurrara Canvas Group Management Committee. He is tasked with moving forward and showing those connections to the Great Sandy Desert through artwork, dance and the transfer of knowledge.
PAINTING THEMES:
Jiljis [sanddunes] from the Great Sandy Desert
Jili [permanent waterhole] from the Great Sandy Desert
Family history
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
2018-19 | Ngurrara Canvas | Sharjah |
2017 | Ngurrara Canvas – 20 Year Celebration | Pinini Lake, Kurlku, WA |
2009 | Margaret River Meets Fitzroy Crossing | Tunbridge Gallery, Margaret River, WA |
2005 | True Colours - Recent works from Fitzroy Crossing | Queensland College of Art Gallery, Griffth University, QLD |
2005 | KALACC Festival | Ngumpan, WA |
2004 | 22nd Telstra National Aboriginal& Torres Strait Islander Art Award | Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory |
2004 | Body of Art | Raft Artspace, Darwin |
| Porta oberta al Dreamtime Painted the doorway with Jukuna Mona Chuguna | Art Aborigen Contemporani d’Australia Caixa de Girona, Girona Spain |
2004 | Ngurrara Canvas | Perth Concert Hall, Perth International Arts Festival, WA |
2003 | Jila, Jumu, Jiwari & Wirrkuja | University of Western Australia |
2001 | Ngurrara Canvas | National Gallery of Australia, ACT |
2001 | Mangkaja Arts Ten Years On - Mangkaja’s 10 Year Anniversary Show | Tandanya, Adelaide, SA |
1999 | Ngurrara | Japingka Gallery, Fremantle, WA |
PUBLICATIONS:
2004 | Perth International Arts Festival Opening Ceremony |
2003 | New Yorker Magazine July 28, 2003 The Painted Desert The Fate of an Aboriginal Masterpiece Dance Performances |
2003 | Exhibition catalogue: Cullity Gallery UWA Perth / Mangkaja Arts Resource Agency Martuwarra and Jila [River and Desert] |
2002 | Exhibition catalogue Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art / Marrawarra and Jila entry |
1998 | 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Kimberley Land Council Parliament House Canberra and ANU 2003
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POSITIONS HELD:
2012 | Curator - Jimmy Pike’s Artlines, Berndt Museum, WA |
2012 | Mangkaja Arts Committee Chairperson |
2009 | Board of Australian Aboriginal Art Code of Conduct |
2009 - Present | Mangkaja Arts Representative Committee Member |
2008 - 2010 | Emerging Curator for the Canning Stock Route Project |
Jungkut Billabong “This is next to Tarpu Jila this billabong. When raining time this place fills up with ngapa (water) every year I come back here and camp in the Jilji and go hunting and Read more…
