Major new commission for national collection through Wesfarmers partnership

Leading First Nations artist Jonathan Jones, Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi peoples, collaborated with Wiradjuri custodians Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM, and Beatrice Murray to present the immersive sculpture untitled (walam-wunga.galang).

Now on display for the first time at the National Gallery of Australia, Jonathan Jones: untitled (walam-wunga.galang) was commissioned and generously supported by Wesfarmers Arts, the Gallery’s Indigenous Arts Partner since 2012.

Wesfarmers Managing Director Rob Scott says ‘Wesfarmers has enjoyed a wonderful partnership with the National Gallery and we are especially pleased that our collaboration includes the commissioning of this major new work by Jonathan Jones as a gift of Wesfarmers to the national collection.

‘It’s a truly timeless work that represents millennia of continuous cultural practice by First Nations people in this country and a powerful symbol of the central role that First Nations art occupies in defining the contemporary face of Australia, both at home and to the world’ said Scott.

Director Dr Nick Mitzevich says ‘With a shared commitment to elevate the stories of Australia’s First Nations peoples, the Gallery’s partnership with Wesfarmers Arts creates opportunities for emerging and established First Nations artists through a range of programming. Through the generosity of Wesfarmers, we’ve been able to engage a celebrated Wiradjuri artist to create this new and meaningful work which we hope will both educate and inspire audiences.’

Visitors will be greeted by nine monumental grindstones which are accompanied by an immersive, evocative soundscape in Wiradjuri language.

untitled (walam-wunga.galang) celebrates the south-east cultural practice of collecting seeds, grinding them to make flour, to make bread, to feed families. This practice has occurred for countless generations in this region and these epic grindstones acknowledge the weight of these stories, which change the way we understand ourselves as a nation.

National Gallery Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Tina Baum, Gulumirrgin (Larrakia)/Wardaman/Karajarri peoples, says untitled (walam-wunga.galang) gives the viewer an insight into Wiradjuri culture and is a significant contribution to the national collection.

‘A grindstone believed to be 32,000 years old was unearthed in central New South Wales, making us some of the world’s oldest bread-makers. Yet like most Aboriginal stories, this story has been displaced by Australia’s colonial narrative – this work by Jones, Grant and Murray is about bringing those stories to light.’

With collaboration at the heart of his practice, Jones worked with Wiradjuri Elder Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM and Beatrice Murray to produce the soundscape. Sentences included in the soundscape were recorded with Dr Uncle Stan Grant Snr AM over a cup of tea at his kitchen table in Narrandera in southern New South Wales.

Jones said he has been learning from and working with Uncle Stan for many years, who is responsible for the revival of the Wiradjuri language.

‘Statements such as “Nindi-nhi bagaray-bang Nguram-bang maying-galang-girri-gu (we want healthy country for future generations)” embed the project in a cultural space and provide us with hope,’ said Jones.

Debuting at Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2021, the work also travelled to National Gallery, Singapore in 2022 as part of the Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia Touring Exhibition.

This work was commissioned and generously supported by Wesfarmers Arts, Boorloo/Perth.

Jonathan Jones: untitled (walam-wunga.galang) is on display at the National Gallery in Kamberri/Canberra from 4 Mar – 23 Jul 2023. For more visit https://nga.gov.au/art-artists/Jonathan-Jones/

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JESS BARNES
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E jessica.barnes@nga.gov.au M 0437 986 286