Judy Manany

Judy Manany is an accomplished artist born in 1962 in Elcho Island, off the coast of Arnhemland in the Northern Territory of Australia.  Celebrated for her painted, carved and woven works, Manany was immersed in the ancient tradition of Aboriginal visual culture as a young girl. Her beloved father, the renowned bark painter, Mithinarri Gurruwiwi, was a profound influence on her artistic and spiritual 

development. Manany describes her formative years spent visiting their Country together: an important subject which she would inherit - and reimagine - in her own distinctive practise. 

‘My name is Judy Manany Gurruwiwi. My clan is Galpu and my Moiety is Dhuwa. I learnt to make art from my father who I assisted from when I was 10 years old. I collected materials for him. We made hollow logs, yidaki, bark paintings and carving. I learnt how to make my own art with my own ideas when my father passed away.

I was born in Yirrkala in 1962 and moved to Elcho Island in 1981. I make string bags, weaving, spears, hollow logs, painting, carving, yidaki and womera. All types of art. I paint my totems which are python, file snake (freshwater snake), water lilies and bidum (a type of fish). The dots in my work are Dhuwa patterns which represent the rainbow and file snake. The crosshatch patterns represent fresh water. My sister Susan also makes artwork, the same as me. She also helped our father and now she helps me make my art. My older brother lives in Darwin, and he advises me on what to paint, what I am allowed to show. I have one daughter, one son, one grandson and two granddaughters and they live with me in Galiwin’ku. My children help me collect the materials for my artwork and prepare the ochre.

I started making soft sculpture animals with pandanus in 2008. I experimented with new ways of weaving to make fish, turtles, camp dog, piggy, pussy cat, and owl.