Dhambit Ruypu Munuŋgurr

Dhambit is the daughter of two winners of the First Prize in the National Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander Art Award, Mutitjpuy Munuŋgurr and Gulumbu Yunupiŋu. Her grandfathers are Woŋgu and Muŋgurrawuy who themselves are legendary leaders and artists. She was hit by a car in 2007 and suffered serious head injuries which were life threatening. She is currently in a wheelchair with restrictions on movement and speech stemming from those head injuries.

Through her husband’s and now deceased mother’s persistence and her own courage she has used art to overcome the deficits caused by the accident. She practised as an artist prior to the accident and was credited as an artist in the film Yolŋu Boy. Her art is powerful and spontaneous and founded in her deep knowledge of Yolŋu Law. Her art is not ‘disabled’ art and finds acceptance within the community and the market as an innovative vision based on real understanding of the spiritual forces of her Yolŋu country and worldview.

She is prolific and generous. She paints every day on whatever substrate she can find. She gifts art continuously to any and all people she comes into contact with Indigenous or otherwise. So that a large percentage of homes with North East Arnhem display a Dhambit work. As well as being art that does not mimic others and which presents a fresh perspective in Yolŋu designs, this is art made for a higher purpose.

She has essentially used the art and her parent’s sacred teachings to overcome physical handicaps and limitations. Her capacity to communicate through and around art with allcomers is truly inspiring. She paints without thought or hope of reward and in turn her work has exhibited in several prestigious shows and galleries.

Her show at Salon in Darwin in 2019 was a completely sold out before it opened.