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Donny Woolagoodja
Language group: Worora
Born: Kunmunya, 1947
Donny, Mowanjum Artists Spirit of the Wandjina Aboriginal Corporation (MASWAC) chairman, is the fourth eldest of ten children. His father, Sam, was the last of the Worora banmen (lawman and medicine man).
Donny’s remarkable upbringing bridges the white Christian beliefs of which he became aware at the mission churches, and the ancient Wandjina laws his father taught him. It allows him to move easily between his Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people.
The influence of his father and grandfather can be seen in Donny’s art, which illustrates the many stories of the land to which he belongs. Soon to be a fully certified teacher of fine art, majoring in Aboriginal Art, Donny was a finalist in the 1999 Telstra National Indigenous Art Award and won the WA State Images Art Award 2000. His work was a feature of the Olympic Games opening ceremony.
Leah Umbagai
Language group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1974
Raised by Donny Woolagoodja and Mildred Mungulu, Leah demonstrates a great love and understanding of her culture in her artwork. She produces breathtaking Wandjina images and pictures of the constellations Seven Sisters and Wallungunder, son of the first Wandjina, Idjair, whose spirit lives in the Milky Way in the shape of the emu.
In addition to being one of the Kimberley’s top basketballers, Leah juggles her art with the care of her young son Folau and her work as an Executive Councilor for the Mowanjum and remote Larinyuwar outstation, where she spends a considerable amount of time.
Leah has always possessed a conspicuous artistic talent – she was awarded the prestigious Marlene Bruce Art Award for Kimberley Aboriginal Art at the age of just 20. Her work is keenly sought and represented in many collections throughout Australia.
Pudja Barunga
Language group: Wunambul
Born: Hunter River, 1925
The eldest of the Mowanjum artists, Pudja is a highly respected Wunambul elder – one of the few Wunambul people living in the Mowanjum community. She maintains her language and is active in the Djunba (corroboree) singing. Her son Gordon and grandson Warren are also artists. Her other sons Nelson, Victor and James are important traditional dancers. Ian Healey, another grandson, is Mowanjum’s top pearl shell carver.
Pudja’s husband Albert Barunga (dec) was the young “tracker” who found Charles Kingsford Smith when his plane, the Southern Cross, was lost near the Kunmunya mission in the Kimberley on its way to Wyndham in 1929.
Pudja’s artwork reflects her traditional Wunambul heritage and upbringing and features Wandjina's and ungud spirits, represented by animals. A Wandjina she often paints is called Rimijmudda, who stole the wives of other Wandjina's.
Gordon Barunga
Language group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1961
The third son of Albert (dec) and Pudja Barunga, Gordon worked at a number of Kimberley places, such as Pantijan Station, One Arm Point and Christmas Creek, before embarking on his artistic career. Gordon paints both traditional Wandjina images and scenes of the Pantijan country in the style of Albert Namatjira and the Hermannsburg school of realistic watercolour landscapes. His work captures the austerity of the Wandjina figures in a way that closely depicts the actual Kimberley cave paintings and shows his love of his country and all that lives in it.
A curator at one of the leading state galleries has described Gordon as an “incredibly gifted artist”.
Warren Barunga
Language Group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1975
Warren is the grandson of Pudja Barunga. He possesses incredible talent in all facets of fine art and is able to create very interesting surfaces that mimic the rock walls on which the real Wandjinas painted themselves. Warren is one of the younger Mowanjum artists, who also spends a lot of his leisure time playing basketball and football. He is an excellent role model for all of the Mowanjum youth and will no doubt be a leader for his people in the future. Warren has recently become very skilled in the area of etching. He has produced immaculately detailed plates, which he overprints to create works, which are described as “ unique states”. Warren is very concerned about the loss of culture that is occurring among Aboriginal youth and he wants to reinvigorate interest through artistic means.
Sandra Mungulu
Language group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1961
Sandra has trained and worked as a bookkeeper, child and aged person carer and undertaken Community Health studies at Curtin University. A partner of Henry Mowaljarlai, Sandra has many memories of watching her father-in-law David (dec) creating his own Wandjina art.
Sandra’s father Alan (dec) and David were fully initiated members of the Ngarinyin tribe and the first two ordained elders in the church. David was deeply concerned with the preservation of his culture and responsible for suggesting the name “Mowanjum” (“settled at last”) for the community.
Sandra is both a prolific and passionate painter. Two daughters, Carmen and Deidre are now painting and her son Aaron is creating pearl shell jewellery. Sandra produces beautifully balanced work, rich in stories and legends that show her deep understanding of her strong traditional cultural beliefs.
Gudu Mungulu
Language group: Ngarinyin
Born: Sale River (Pantijan), 1936
Gudu is the warm generous Mungulu matriarch. Born in Pantijan, she trekked to Munja, Kunmunya, Wotjulum, old Mowanjum and present day Mowanjum. She is a traditional, highly respected elder who teaches language and tells stories to the students at Derby District High School, and cares for a large extended family.
Her daughters Margaret, Marjorie, Mildred, Sandra, Robyn and Jacqui, and granddaughters Carmen and Deidre, are all artists. Gudu’s husband Alan (dec) was a Worora leader. He taught young children in the Wotjulum and Mowanjum mission schools and was known for his pearl shell carvings. Together, they ran the mission store for many years.
Gudu specialises in painting bush tucker, including Waanunga (bush honey). Her work is keenly sought for its authenticity and strong design and is represented in both the West and south Australian museums.
Mildred Mungulu
Language group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1957
Mildred helped her parents, Gudu and Alan (dec), in the Mowanjum store and spent many years working at Kimberley Health and the Numbala Nunga Nursing Home. She has temporarily deferred her Curtin University studies in Community Health to perfect her art.
Mildred and her partner, Donny Woolagoodja, spend part of the year at the outstation of Larinuywar (Cone Bay) in King Sound where they are planning to develop an artist camp. At this camp, they will be able to teach visitors and other artists about the country and the stories.
Mildred is a disciplined painter with a strong eye for detail, design and movement. Skilful in her use of colour, Mildred’s paintings have a mystical quality and often combine Gyorn Gyorn figures with Wandjina's. It’s not unusual for Mildred and Donny to work late into the night creating their visual depictions of the Wandjina stories.
Majorie Mungulu
Language Group: Worora
Born: Derby, 1951
Marjorie helped her father Alan (dec) with the polishing of pearl shell carvings and taxidermy of turtles and crocodiles. She also worked at the old Mowanjum clinic and Derby Regional Hospital and Numbala Nunga Nursing Home after here schooling. With her husband, Majorie then went to Mount House and Mount Barnett Stations, where she worked at the clinic and did other bush work. In 1993 she commenced Aboriginal Health studies at Curtin University. Majorie Loves to paint the elegant, often highly decorated Gyorn Gyorn figures, which represent the earliest Kimberley inhabitants. “The Wandjinas where able to give these people proper laws to follow,” says Majorie. “ They are our distant relatives.” The images in Majorie’s paintings are recalled from family stories. She is a meticulous artist whose delicate brushwork perfectly captures the gratefulness of the Gyorn Gyorn form.
Alison Burgu
Language Group: Worora
Born: Derby 1966
Alison is the second eldest daughter of Mowanjum artist and elder statesman Roger Burgu. During the last few years, Alison has become one of Mowanjum’s most prolific Wandjina artist. She is a devout Christian, however, she still has wonderful knowledge of Wandjina culture and derives great pleasure from producing large, colourful works. Alison appeared as a six year old in Michael Eldos awarding winning film Lailai, which focused on traditional Aboriginal Culture in the Worora homelands near doubtful Bay.
Gabriella Dolby
Language Group: Ngarinyin
Born: Derby, 1969
Gabriella is the partner of Gordon Barunga. They enjoy working together, both at the Mowanjum studio and in their own home. Gabriella is a wonderful exponent of the decorative brush strike in-fill technique, which is synonymous with the Mowanjum style. She recently made a field trip to Munja, passing through her homelands near Pantijan and was inspired by the rock art that she was on that journey.
Margaret Mungulu
Language Group: Worora
Born: Wotjulum Mission, 1955
Margaret spent a great deal of time with her father Alan(dec) decorating didjeridoos and carving boab nuts and emu eggs. After her schooling, Margaret spent eight years nursing at Derby Regional Hospital. Her husband, Matthew Martin, is a stockman at Mount Elizabeth Station, about 380km north of Derby. For many years, Margaret was at Pantijan Station, where she learned about her country. Many of her paintings depict the stories that are legendary among the three tribes. Margaret likes to use bright colours in her paintings, which are always highly decorative. Her works are detailed and easily identified by their typically stylised Wandjina facial features.
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