Nonggirrnga Marawili is the daughter of the Madarrpa’ warrior Mundukul (Lightning snake) and a Galpu woman Buluguwuy. Nongirrnga was a wife of Djapu statesman Djutjadjutja Munungurr (deceased) who won Best Bark painting at the National Aboriginal Art Awards 1997 in which she ably assisted. She was the mother of four sons before birthing her two daughters, Marrnyula and Rerrkirrwanga (both artists, Rerrkirrwanga won Best Bark in Telstra 2009). Nongirrnga is a highly respected senior in her community knowledgeable in two educational systems and practitioner in bush and also institutions. As well many of the works attributed to her husbands were crosshatched by Nonggirrnga teaching her family the required skills. She most often paints her husband’s Djapu clan, her mother’s Gålpu clan’s designs or her own Madarrpa.
Nonggirrnga Marawili is regarded as one of the most important artists working at Buku-Larrnggay Mulka at Yirrkala in the Northern Territory. Her highly sophisticated bark paintings, Larrakitj, works on paper and prints reflect an engrained, natural understanding of her culture, history and environment through her expressive and organic forms of painting. By combining natural materials such as earth ochres and stringy bark with a striking use of pink pigment (recovered from recycled print toner cartridges), Nonggirrnga alludes to her strong cultural ties, whilst simultaneously crossing artistic boundaries that only a senior woman of her strength could even contemplate.
Nonggirrnga Marawili’s already extraordinary career reached new heights in 2017 with her work being featured in significant exhibitions including Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia, Who’s Afraid of Colour at the National Gallery of Victoria and TARNANTHI: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia. In 2018-19, the Art Gallery of New South Wales presented a major solo exhibition of work by Nonggirrgna Marawili, From my Heart and Mind, which spanned the artist’s career with a comprehensive publication to accompany the exhibition.
In 2019 Nonggirrgna was thrilled to be announced as the WINNER of The Roberts Family Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prize, as part of the prestigious Wynne Prize 2019 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Not long after Nonggirrngawas also announced WINNER of the 2019 Telstra Bark Painting Award at the 36th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin.
In 2019-20 a major installation by Nonggirrnga Marawili was unveiled at TARNANTHI: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art, presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide.
COLLECTIONS
NSW Art Gallery
Berndt Museum WA
Metropolitan Museum of Art New York USA National Gallery of Victoria
Scholl Collection USA
AWARDS
Winner, Telstra Bark Painting Award, NATSIAA, 2019
Winner, The Roberts Family Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prize, 2019
Winner, Bark Painting Award NATSIAA, 2015
Finalist and Highly Commended WAIAA, 2015
Finalist and Highly Commended WAIAA, 2015
Winner, Bark Painting Award, NATSIAA, 2015
Finalist NATSIAA, 2014
Finalist NATSIAA, 2013