Binygurr Wirrpanda

Binygurr is the son of Buwawitj. His deceased father Mulayal #2 was the eldest brother of living elder Dhukal Wirrpanda. Binygurr’s father Mulayal #2 (1946 -1980) was the eldest of four sons of the great warrior Djuŋgi.

Djuŋgi’s father was the infamous Dhakiyarr who disappeared in questionable circumstances after his release from Fannie Bay Gaol after he speared Constable McColl in the early 30’s on Woodah Island.

Binygurr assumed the role of Chair of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in 2022. This acknowledges the respect he is held in. As a senior ceremonial leader he needs to be fully versed in the poetic law of the creation but also needs to convey the authority and sensitivity to lead ceremonies involving hundreds of people over multiple weeks. This balance has always been present in his art. The power of his knowledge of the sacred designs has been expressed through a delicacy of hand and figurative expressiveness which belies that seriousness.

Binygurr was brought up at his ancestral homeland of Dhuruputjpi. He began to paint for the art centre in 2005 as the ‘Young Guns’ exhibition was being put together.

In the following decade he concentrated upon his ceremonial responsibilities and then moved to his wife’s homeland of Birany Birany on the East coast of the Miwatj region. This coincided with a more prominent ceremonial role and a return to art production. His ironwood sculpture and distinctive renditions of Dhudi Djapu law on bark were noticeably individual and high quality.

In 2021 Binygurr began working on discarded signs following the lead that Gunybi Ganambarr provided. This led to his involvement in the ground-breaking sell out show ‘Murrŋiny; stories of metal from the east’ which showed at the Northern Centre for Contemporary art in Darwin in collaboration with Salon Arts Projects. This novel medium also seemed to free up a compositional experimentation. At every step Binygurr has shown himself to be a true artist with a genuinely unique capacity to render his law in new and arresting ways.