February 15, 2015

Djon Mundine – In the Spirit of Bungaree

Djon Mundine is an expert in Aboriginal art and an eccentric, iconic figure.

As a curator and artist, he has brought together many shows and supported the career of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. In 2012, Mundine put on a show at the Mosman Art Gallery that brought together a raft of artists to look at the curious historic Aboriginal figure – Bungaree. Artists included in the exhibition are Frances Belle Parker, Mervyn Bishop, Daniel Boyd, Karla Dickens, Fiona Foley, Adam Hill, Warwick Keen, Gary Lee, Peter McKenzie, Danie Mellor, Caroline Oakley, r e a, Gordon Syron, Leanne Tobin and Jason Wing.

Like Mundine, Bungaree was a complex figure – highly curious, highly intellectual. He was a pragmatist, a performer and an intrepid traveller – the first known Aboriginal person to circumnavigate Australia. In February 2015, Mundine is opening the next iteration of the show – one where he has brought artists together and pushed them to look at the material through intangible expressions. Against the backdrop of the show we will look at the course of Mundine’s life that saw him become one of the countries leading experts on Indigenous art, his fascination with Bungaree and what he thinks the future holds for the next generation of Indigenous artists.