Paul Nabulumo Namarinjmak

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Details

Born: 1971

Skin: Kamarrang

Language: Kuninjku

Location: Manangrida

Biography

Kuninjku artist Paul Nabulumo is a painter and sculptor. He is the son of acclaimed artist, Mick Kubarkku (1925 –
2008), who was known for his painting of dirdbim (moon, sun and stars) and the associated site on his Kulmarru
clan estate. Nabulumo learned under his guidance, watching him paint on rock surfaces and bark paintings as a
young man. The artist continues to paint the iconic imagery handed down from his father, including Ngalyod
(Rainbow Serpent), mimih (rock country spirit), yawkyawk (female water spirits), Kubumi (waterholes) and djulng
(Ancestral bones). Nabulumo maintains strong connection to his heritage, living and working at Yikkarrakkal
Outstation which sits adjacent to the dirdbim and kubumi djang (Ancestral) sites* . However, he has developed
his own distinct aesthetic, characterised by striking combinations of fine and elegant rarrk, figurative elements
and bold negative space.
Nabulumo began exhibiting in 2000, participating in his first group show at Aboriginal Art & Pacific (Sydney). His
work was included in the historic exhibition <> at the Bargehouse in London in 2007. His work was also
selected for the 23rd and 28th Telstra National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibitions. Nabulumo has shown
both locally and internationally at highly regarded commercial spaces such as Josh Lilley Fine Art (UK), Gallery
Gabrielle Pizzi (Melbourne), Annandale Galleries (Sydney), Paul Johnstone Gallery (Darwin), Outstation Gallery
(Darwin), Art Kelch (Freiburg) and most recently Michael Reid (Sydney). The artist’s work can be found in various
collection including that of the National Gallery of Australia and the Museum of Victoria.
* “Dirdbim literally means ‘image of the moon’. The site is a large unusually round hole in a sandstone residual on
the plain not far from the Mann River. The large hole is said to be the full moon created by ngalyod who pierced
the rock in times of the ‘Dreaming’ and left the shape of the full moon.
Kubumi is a sacred site on the Mann River consisting of a series of deep waterholes connected by underground
tunnels. Ngalyod pierced the rock to create these waterholes and now lives in the rocky riverbed.

Exhibitions Group exhibitions

2022 October, Short St Gallery Broome Northern Waters
2022 September, Koskela Gallery Rosebery Spirit in Bark
2021 December, Michael Reid Berlin Spirit Worlds: Contemporary Works from Maningrida
2020 September Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW Wynne Prize
2020 September Michael Reid Galleries Maningrida Arts & Culture
2020 September Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery Resilience – The Power of the Past Reverberates Today
2020 September, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Fine Art, Brussels, BELGUIM RESILIENCE: The power of the past today – Maningrida
2020 August, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin 2020 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards Finalist
2020 August, Online Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2020
2020 June, Tiwi Islands to Arnhem Land
2019 October, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide Tarnanthi Art Fair
2019 October, AGSA Tarnanthi Art Fair 2019
2019 August, Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair
2019 August, Charles Darwin University Gallery Salon des Refuses (NATSIAA)
2018 November, ARTKELCH @ ST-ART 2018, Strasbourg, France ST-ART 2018
2018 September, ARTKELCH, Freiburg, Germany Mardayin – Aboriginal Art von Maningrida Arts
2018 September, Art Kelch Mardayin – Aboriginal Art von Maningrida Arts
2018 July, Michael Reid, Sydney, NSW From Coast to Escarpment: Spirit Worlds of Maningrida
2018 May, Outstation Gallery, Darwin, NT Outstation
2016 March, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT Maningrida Arts
2014 March, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT Spirits
2012 March, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC Maningrida Group Show
2011 March, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT 28th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award
2009 January, Josh Lilley Fine Art, National Geographic Store, London, UK Sculptures
2009 January, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD Sculpture Show
2008 January, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW Maningrida Arts
2008 January, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC Maningrida Arising
2008 January, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne, VIC Weaving around the Traps
2007 January, Bargehouse Gallery, London, UK Rarrk
2007 January, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW Maningrida Group Show
2007 January, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW Spirit in Variation Part II
2007 January, Gallery Anthony Curtis, Boston, USA Crossing the Dreaming Land
2007 January, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT New Works
2006 January, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC Sculptures from Maningrida
2006 January, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW Lorrkons and Spirit Figures 2006 January, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT 23rd Telstra National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition
2006 January, African Muse Gallery, Paris, France Peintures sur ecorce de Maningrida
2005 January, Bandigan Aboriginal Art & Craft, Sydney, NSW Sticks & Stones
2005 January Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW Rarrk, flowing on from Crossing Country
2005 January, Indigenart, Perth, WA After Crossing Country, a survey bark exhibition
2005 January, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK New works from Maningrida
2005 January, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW Bark paintings and carvings from Maningrida
2005 January Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC Spirit Beings and Lorrkon
2005 January, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA Recent works from Maningrida
2004 January, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC Maningrida Recent Works
2004 January, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA Fibre and sculptures, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA
2003 January, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW Moon, one icon, many stories
2003 January, Framed gallery, Darwin, NT Out of the wet -new art by Kuninjku artists-
2003 January, Annandale galleries, Sydney, NSW The Visit Aboriginal & Pacific Arts, Sydney, NSW Kuninjku Cosmology: recent works by Mick Kubarkku and his sons