Warmun Artists - The Ochre Story

Warmun Art Centre presents a survey exhibition of major ochre paintings from its senior artists produced over the past 8 years. Artists represented in the exhibition include Patrick Mung Mung, Mabel Juli, Rusty Peters, Shirley Purdie, Phyllis Thomas, Peggy Patrick, Churchill Cann, Beryline Mung, Tommy Carroll and Gordon Barney.

The community has been exhibiting its unique artwork for 35 years and opened its original art centre studio in 1998 with a new building launched in 2008. Major flood damage was sustained there in 2011. Twenty years after the art centre opening Warmun Art has over 70 artists working in the community with a high profile of exhibitions and events. During recent months, March – July, the community has been closed to the outside world due to the global viral pandemic.

The rich ochre surfaces painted by Warmun artists go back directly to the use of ochre paint in ceremony, where painted dance boards and body painting are an integral part of performance. Today subject matter for art includes Narrankarni Dreaming and creation stories, maps of Country and historical sites and events. Senior artists continue to pass knowledge to emerging artists in the younger generation. The exhibition will run from 24 July to 26 August 2020.