Mandjabu, Mannarlinj, Kunkaninj, Kunkarlewobe – Jack Nawilil and Sandra Richards

Mayali and Rembarrnga artist Kamarrang Jack Nawilil is a senior member of the Balngarra clan. Nawilil’s work is held in public and private collections, and he has exhibited with commercial galleries around Australia and overseas for nearly four decades.

He lives and works at Bolkjdam, an outstation located a 45-minute drive to the south of Maningrida community in central Arnhem Land. Bolkdjam is one of the few outstations accessible from Maningrida year-round and is not cut off from flooding rivers during the wet season.

The families reside there throughout the year and sustain their culturally rich livelihoods through art-making. Finished artworks are brought into Maningrida Arts & Culture by the carload; The presence of Nawilil and Richards is immediately know as they are often accompanied by many generations of family.

Time spent in Maningrida is kept as brief as possible. Fuelling up the car and shopping for food and other resources before heading back out to Bolkdjam.

Belinj Sandra Richards is Nawilil’s second eldest daughter and describes her early artistic learnings from him:

“When I was still playing, when I was a kid and I was looking at him [Nawilil] painting and I was saying “instead of my father doing all this mob [points to bark paintings] I’ll try and learn.”

I was getting a little piece of paper, I was getting a lead pencil from school, and making all the little pictures, you know? and I was learning from djurra (paper).

And when my father would go to the bush and cut all the darr (Stringybark) I thought I’ll cut one small one, and put all the little stones on top and afterwards when it was dry I started to do my painting. I showed my father and he said ‘that’s good’.

He would tell me all that meaning and all that story, mandjabu, manngarlinj, kunkarninj, kunkarlewobe, and now I know everything.”

This exhibition is the first to exclusively showcase the work of Balngarra clan artists. Nawilil and Richards’ mark-making is looser and gentler than that of their Kuninjku neighbours. The borders of the painting sit askew, off-centre, and their rarrk is laid down on the stringybark with confidence.