wak Rosina Gunjarrwanga

Rosina Gunjarrwanga (born in Darwin, 1988) is related to many significant artists, including her mother Belinj Susan Marawarr and the renowned Balang John Mawurndjul AM. The catalogue essay for ‘Primavera,’ prepared by Maningrida Arts & Culture, noted, ‘the message behind these quiet works is loud: this Country was not ceded.’ Gunjarrwanga uses the cross-hatching technique of rarrk and a palette of black, white and red, to express the power in her language, her responsibilities for country and her daily experience.

Gunjarrwanga lives in Maningrida, a place that Kuninjku people from the west of Maningrida refer to as Manawukan. Her bark paintings and burial poles, made using the rarrk technique, are imbued with presence and dignity. In their execution, their depths and quiet confidence, they reflect the culture that comes to her