Paul Namarinjmak Nabulumo
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 <<rark>> 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.
Artworks
Past Exhibitions
Group
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2020 RESILIENCE: The power of the past today - Maningrida, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Fine Art, Brussels, BELGUIM
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2019 Tarnanthi Art Fair, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
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2019 Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin
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2019 Salon des Refuses (NATSIAA), Charles Darwin University Gallery
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2018 Mardayin, Art Kelch, Freiburg, Germany
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2018 From Coast to Escarpment: Spirit Worlds of Maningrida, Michael Reid, Sydney, NSW
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2018 Outstation, Outstation Gallery, Darwin, NT
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2016 Maningrida Arts, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT
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2014 Spirits, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT
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2012 Maningrida Group Show, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
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2011 28th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
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2009 Sculpture Show, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
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2009 Sculptures, Josh Lilley Fine Art, National Geographic Store, London, UK
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2008 Maningrida Arts, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2008 Maningrida Arising, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
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2008 Weaving around the Traps, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne, VIC
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2007 New Works, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
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2007 Spirit in Variation Part II, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2007 Rarrk, Bargehouse Gallery, London, UK
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2007 Crossing the Dreaming Land, Gallery Anthony Curtis, Boston, USA
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2007 Maningrida Group Show, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2006 Lorrkons and Spirit Figures, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2006 23rd Telstra National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
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2006 Peintures sur ecorce de Maningrida, African Muse Gallery, Paris, France
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2006 Sculptures from Maningrida, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
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2005 Spirit Beings and Lorrkon, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
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2005 Rarrk, flowing on from Crossing Country, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2005 New works from Maningrida, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
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2005 Sticks & Stones, Bandigan Aboriginal Art & Craft, Sydney, NSW
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2005 After Crossing Country, a survey bark exhibition, Indigenart, Perth, WA
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2005 Bark paintings and carvings from Maningrida, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2005 Recent works from Maningrida, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA
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2004 Maningrida Recent Works, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
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2004 Fibre and sculptures, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA
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2003 Out of the wet -new art by Kuninjku artists-, Framed gallery, Darwin, NT
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2003 Moon, one icon, many stories, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
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2003 The Visit, Annandale galleries, Sydney, NSW
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2000 Kuninjku Cosmology: recent works by Mick Kubarkku and his sons, Aboriginal & Pacific Arts, Sydney, NSW
Collections
- Laverty Collection, Sydney, NSW
- Museum of Victoria, Melbourne, VIC
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia