Object: Wati Wiru (The Good Man) Kunmanara Carroll
VAULT celebrates the work of the late artist, whose exquisite ceramics describe Country.
Image credit: Kunmanara Carrol, Walungurru, 2020, stoneware, 53 x 22 x 22 cm. Photo: Grant Hancock
The yearly JamFactory ICON exhibition highlights South Australian artists working in craft-based media who have made a significant contribution to the field. This year’s exhibition features the effortless talent of Luritja, Pitjantjatjara and Pintupi artist Kunmanara Carroll with his latest and last body of work Ngaylu Nyanganyi Ngura Winki (I Can See All Those Places) (2021), exploring reconnection to Country. Showcasing his important legacy in ceramics and painting, Ngaylu Nyanganyi Ngura Winki is currently touring across Australia, until May 2024.
Kunmanara Carroll was born in Haasts Bluff, Northern Territory, in 1950. His mother is Pitjantjatjara and his father is Luritja and Pintupi. Mr Carroll got into some minor trouble in his younger years before moving to Pukatja in the late 1960s to put down roots; his large family is now based there. He showed strong leadership and had a powerful voice in the Pukatja community, working as community chairperson, Director of Nganampa Health and later a community constable for 20 years. After his retirement in 2009, Mr Carroll pursued an interest in art and started painting at Ernabella Arts, the oldest Indigenous art centre in Australia, established in 1948 and located in Pukatja in the far north-west of South Australia. He was introduced to ceramics in 2011 and soon gained popularity with his soft minimalist style. He subsequently established himself as a prominent senior artist, with works in collections all over Australia.
In his ceramics, Mr Carroll would often use a technique called ‘sgraffito’, which involves making scratches into the superficial layer so that a pattern...Subscribe to read this article in full
