ALEC MINGELMANGANU
1910-1981, AustraliaAlec Mingelmanganu was regarded as one of the finest contemporary painters of Wanjina figures, the quintessential icons of the north and central Kimberley. He was a pioneer of the market for Wanjina paintings when Worrorra, Wunambal and Ngarinyin people began producing them on portable surfaces in the mid 1970s. The small number of works Mingelmanganu created on bark and canvas remain highly sought after by curators and collectors, with few remaining in private hands.
Anthropologist Kim Akerman, a close friend of Mingelmanganu, reminisced about his genesis as an artist and the power with which he imbued his figures:
”Recognised as an outstanding painter of Wanjina figures since 1975, Alec Mingelmanganu was among the first artists of the Kimberley to continue the tradition on canvas after he was introduced to the medium in 1979. At this time, having seen monumental works executed by non-Indigenous artists during a visit to Perth, Western Australia, Mingelmanganu expressed a desire to work on a similar scale ...
Mingelmanganu’s Wanjinas confront the viewer. The close-set eyes appear to be hollow, tunnels to another dimension, gates to another world. In some images, including this particular example, there is an almost quizzical air that asks the viewer, ‘Who are you?’ The raised, sometimes excurvate shoulders project an air of determination that is balanced by the relaxed arms, which in turn suggest a relaxed confidence, a surety of the power and strength inherent in each Wanjina”
Luke Scholes. Courtesy D Lan Galleries
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