JOHN MAWURNDJUL - MIMIH SPIRIT

 JOHN MAWURNDJUL
MIMIH SPIRIT,  2003
187 x 4 x 4 cm
natural earth pigments on wood
 
PROVENANCE
Maningrida, NT
Maningrida Art and Culture, NTFlinders Lane Gallery Vic Cat No. 4418-03Private Collection, Vic 
 
STORY
Born at Mumeka, located near the Mann River in Central Arnhem Land, an important site for the Kurulk clan, John Mawurndjurl was taught to paint by his elder brother Jimmy Njiminjuma and his uncle Peter Marralwanga. Today he guides the development of his children and his niece Irenie Ngalinba, Jimmy Njiminjuma's daughter. Originally painting mythological figures such as the Ngalyod the Rainbow serpent and totemic creatures, he later developed a more abstract style with many grid forms interlocking over the entire surface, as depicted in Mardayin Design, where the complex composition of Mawurndjul's intricate rarrk skills is evident.John Mawurndjul's crosshatched design (rarrk) contains Mardayin power and thereby eminates this powerful presence.The people of western Arnhem Land believe that Mimih spirits live in a social organization similar to Aboriginal people and that Mimih society existed before humans. Mimih are credited with instructing the first people with knowledge relating to survival in the rocky environment of the Arnhem Land plateau. Mimih are said to have taught the first humans how to hunt and butcher game and also how to dance, sing and paint.Mimih are terribly thin, having necks so slender that a stiff breeze would be fatal. For this reason they emerge only on windless day and night to hunt. As soon as a breeze develops, the Mimih are said to run back to their rocky caverns and disappear inside.
 
EXHIBITED
Cooee: Come Here, March 2021, Cooee Art | Redfern