Acknowledgement of Country

Overview

Joe Guymala is an acclaimed artist from Manmoyi, a remote aboriginal community in Western Arnhem Land. His distinctively graphic and engaging work, done in natural ochres on paper and on bark, combines the ancient traditions of Arnhem Land rock art with a highly individual contemporary vision. This is his first solo show in the UK.

Guymala’s recurrent motifs document his day-to-day life in the bush and the species that inhabit it, such as emus, kangaroos, cats and birds, as well as the traditional ‘dreamtime’ stories that connect them with the land. The natural world lies at the heart of Guymala’s art, reflecting its centrality to Aboriginal culture. However, he also reaches beyond his immediate environment to take in such distinctly modern subject-matter as YouTube Snake, establishing an interesting correlation between traditional aboriginal means of storytelling and contemporary social-media.

About the Artist

Joe Guymala, now in his fifties, is steeped in the traditional painting lore of the Kunwinjku people: his grandfather, Namerredje Guymala, was a senior Kunwinjku law-man and artist. Joe’s own creative work includes not only painting but also music and song-writing. His deep knowledge of the flora, fauna and spiritual life of his ancestral lands has been fostered by his time as a Warddeken Ranger, part of an innovative indigenous Land Management initiative in western Arnhem Land.

About the Organisation

Since its establishment in 1988, the Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery has pioneered exhibitions of Aboriginal art in London, as well as curating important collections from Papua New Guinea, tribal India and the Bushmen of the Kalahari. The Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery also advocates contemporary Western artists who resist the dominant trends of the art world. The gallery is renowned for discovering talent and starting trends in contemporary art.