622. Murayana, (Gunmirringu, the Great Ancestral Hunter) David Malangi, c. 1960, Millingimbi, 34 x 22
(Former Barnett Collection, collected by Dorothy Bennett)

David Malangi is probably the most celebrated living aboriginal artist. His career spans over thirty five years during which time his traditional designs were used for the Australian dollar and on numerous occasions he has represented Australia internationally, such as at the Sao Paolo Bienalle in 1983. On a recent trip to Australia I visited with David and spent an afternoon watching him paint. After showing him the catalog of a museum exhibition I had done, which featured an early work of his on the cover, he gradually warmed up to me. At first it seemed difficult for him to digest the fact that there was a reproduction of an important early work in front of him as aboriginal artists rarely see older works of theirs again once they have entered into the context of the outside world and their ways of telling the same storys evolve and change over the course of the years. The fact that their works have a real permanence to them and an "afterlife" is a relatively new concept for a people to whom the importance of the artwork is the spiritual aspect of the creative act and a works power as a story telling aid. Eventually after his wife and nephew showed interest in the work he began laughing at my museum ctalog and marveling at seeing this seminal painting of his again. He then went inside and brought out chersished memorobilia, showing me a number of the awards he has received over the years for his many artistic achievements. Collections: Australia National Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, Northern Territory Museum, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of Western Australia, This figure is a match of one in the collection of the Northern Territory Museum, Darwin.