Paul Namarinjmak
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 for sale
Wak Wak
Lambalk (Sugar Glider)
Wak Wak
Waterholes (Kubumi)
Mimih Spirit
Bekka
Lorrkon (Hollow Log)
Bekka (File snake)
Djulng
Past Exhibitions
Group
- 2024
Yesterday’s Tomorrow, The Artbarn, Arndt Collection, Cape Shank, VIC
- 2023
Shadow Spirit curated by Kimberley Moulton, RISING, Flinders Street Station, Melbourne VIC
- 2022
DEKADE: 10 Years of Michael Reid Berlin, Michael Reid Berlin, Germany
- 2022
Northern Waters, Short St Gallery Broome
- 2022
Spirit in Bark, Koskela Gallery Rosebery
- 2021
Spirit Worlds: Contemporary Works from Maningrida, Michael Reid Berlin
- 2020
Wynne Prize, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, NSW
- 2020
Maningrida Arts & Culture, Michael Reid Galleries
- 2020
Resilience – The Power of the Past Reverberates Today, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery
- 2020
RESILIENCE: The power of the past today – Maningrida, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Fine Art, Brussels, BELGUIM
- 2020
2020 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards Finalist, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin
- 2020
Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair 2020, Online
- 2020
Tiwi Islands to Arnhem Land
- 2019
Tarnanthi Art Fair, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide
- 2019
Tarnanthi Art Fair 2019, AGSA
- 2019
Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Darwin Convention Centre, Darwin
- 2019
Salon des Refuses (NATSIAA), Charles Darwin University Gallery
- 2018
ST-ART 2018, ARTKELCH @ ST-ART 2018, Strasbourg, France
- 2018
Mardayin – Aboriginal Art von Maningrida Arts, ARTKELCH, Freiburg, Germany
- 2018
Mardayin – Aboriginal Art von Maningrida Arts, Art Kelch
- 2018
From Coast to Escarpment: Spirit Worlds of Maningrida, Michael Reid, Sydney, NSW
- 2018
Outstation, Outstation Gallery, Darwin, NT
- 2016
Maningrida Arts, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT
- 2014
Spirits, Paul Johnstone Gallery, Darwin, NT
- 2012
Maningrida Group Show, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2011
28th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
- 2009
Sculpture Show, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
- 2009
Sculptures, Josh Lilley Fine Art, National Geographic Store, London, UK
- 2008
Maningrida Arts, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2008
Maningrida Arising, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2008
Weaving around the Traps, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne, VIC
- 2007
Spirit in Variation Part II, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2007
New Works, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
- 2007
Rarrk, Bargehouse Gallery, London, UK
- 2007
Maningrida Group Show, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2007
Crossing the Dreaming Land, Gallery Anthony Curtis, Boston, USA
- 2006
Sculptures from Maningrida, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
- 2006
Peintures sur ecorce de Maningrida, African Muse Gallery, Paris, France
- 2006
23rd Telstra National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
- 2006
Lorrkons and Spirit Figures, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2005
Rarrk, flowing on from Crossing Country, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2005
New works from Maningrida, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, UK
- 2005
Spirit Beings and Lorrkon, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2005
Sticks & Stones, Bandigan Aboriginal Art & Craft, Sydney, NSW
- 2005
After Crossing Country, a survey bark exhibition, Indigenart, Perth, WA
- 2005
Bark paintings and carvings from Maningrida, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2005
Recent works from Maningrida, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA
- 2004
Maningrida Recent Works, William Mora Galleries, Melbourne, VIC
- 2004
Fibre and sculptures, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA, Indigenart, Fremantle, WA
- 2003
Out of the wet -new art by Kuninjku artists-, Framed gallery, Darwin, NT
- 2003
Moon, one icon, many stories, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney, NSW
- 2003
The Visit, Annandale galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 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