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Djon Mundine
Djon Mundine OAM (born 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian artist, curator, activist and writer. He is a member of the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales. He is known for having conceived the 1988 work Aboriginal Memorial, on display at the National Gallery of Art in Canberra.
Djon was born in Grafton, New South Wales in 1951. He was born 6th of 11 children to Roy Mundine and Olive Bridgette Mundine (nee Donovan). John's father Roy was a union stockman, and Olive's father had joined the first Indigenous Australian political party, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association, in the 1920s. His family was very poor growing up, but he credits his father with encouraging the children to think: "I suppose you're not supposed to talk about sex and politics and religion at the table, but he'd get us to talk about whatever was in the papers." He is the elder brother of former politician Nyunggai Warren Mundine. His family later moved to Sydney in 1963, where he attended Marist Brothers schools in Auburn and Parramatta.
He is a Wehbal man from the West Bundjalung nation, from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. He is also a descendant of the Yuin people.
Mundine spent his early life in South Grafton. He was exposed to the traditions of Aboriginal art and technique from a young age.
In 1963, his family settled in the western Sydney suburb of Auburn. Mundine went to the Marist Brothers College then called Benedict College, and went on to commence study at Macquarie University.
After deciding that college was not the right path for him, he became an art adviser at Milingimbi Art Centre as art and craft advisor at Milingimbi in the Crocodile Islands in 1979, and afterwards as curator and adviser at Bula'Bula Arts in Ramingining, in Arnhem Land, for 16 years. There he conceived of the concept for the famous Aboriginal Memorial, which is on permanent display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
From 1979 to 1995, Mundine lived and worked in remote Aboriginal communities including Ramingining, Milingimbi, and Maningrida, where he served as an art adviser. He has described this period as formative, likening it to a spiritual pilgrimage that shaped his curatorial vision.
Mundine is particularly well-known for his work as the concept artist and producer of the Aboriginal Memorial. This is a work of contemporary Indigenous Australian art comprising 200 decorated hollow log coffins, offered as a commemoration of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988; the log coffins represent 200 years of European occupation of Australia. Their design directly references the traditional hollow log mortuary ceremony of Central Arnhem Land, commemorates those Indigenous Australians who died as a result of European settlement. The work was realised by 43 artists from Ramingining and neighbouring communities of Central Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, including David Malangi, George Milpurrurru, and Philip Gudthaykudthay. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, where it is on permanent display. Its first exhibition was at the Sydney Biennale in 1988, and it has travelled to various galleries around the world over the years.
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Djon Mundine
Djon Mundine OAM (born 1951) is an Aboriginal Australian artist, curator, activist and writer. He is a member of the Bundjalung people of northern New South Wales. He is known for having conceived the 1988 work Aboriginal Memorial, on display at the National Gallery of Art in Canberra.
Djon was born in Grafton, New South Wales in 1951. He was born 6th of 11 children to Roy Mundine and Olive Bridgette Mundine (nee Donovan). John's father Roy was a union stockman, and Olive's father had joined the first Indigenous Australian political party, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association, in the 1920s. His family was very poor growing up, but he credits his father with encouraging the children to think: "I suppose you're not supposed to talk about sex and politics and religion at the table, but he'd get us to talk about whatever was in the papers." He is the elder brother of former politician Nyunggai Warren Mundine. His family later moved to Sydney in 1963, where he attended Marist Brothers schools in Auburn and Parramatta.
He is a Wehbal man from the West Bundjalung nation, from the Northern Rivers of New South Wales. He is also a descendant of the Yuin people.
Mundine spent his early life in South Grafton. He was exposed to the traditions of Aboriginal art and technique from a young age.
In 1963, his family settled in the western Sydney suburb of Auburn. Mundine went to the Marist Brothers College then called Benedict College, and went on to commence study at Macquarie University.
After deciding that college was not the right path for him, he became an art adviser at Milingimbi Art Centre as art and craft advisor at Milingimbi in the Crocodile Islands in 1979, and afterwards as curator and adviser at Bula'Bula Arts in Ramingining, in Arnhem Land, for 16 years. There he conceived of the concept for the famous Aboriginal Memorial, which is on permanent display at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
From 1979 to 1995, Mundine lived and worked in remote Aboriginal communities including Ramingining, Milingimbi, and Maningrida, where he served as an art adviser. He has described this period as formative, likening it to a spiritual pilgrimage that shaped his curatorial vision.
Mundine is particularly well-known for his work as the concept artist and producer of the Aboriginal Memorial. This is a work of contemporary Indigenous Australian art comprising 200 decorated hollow log coffins, offered as a commemoration of the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988; the log coffins represent 200 years of European occupation of Australia. Their design directly references the traditional hollow log mortuary ceremony of Central Arnhem Land, commemorates those Indigenous Australians who died as a result of European settlement. The work was realised by 43 artists from Ramingining and neighbouring communities of Central Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, including David Malangi, George Milpurrurru, and Philip Gudthaykudthay. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Australia, where it is on permanent display. Its first exhibition was at the Sydney Biennale in 1988, and it has travelled to various galleries around the world over the years.