Two Girls From Amoonguna features work by Arrernte and Southern Luritja artist Sally M Nangala Mulda and Arrernte and Western Arrarnta artist Marlene Rubuntja. Originally conceived by Luritja curator Jenna Rain Warwick for ACMI in 2023, the exhibition has been re-staged at Araluen Art Centre. This is not a coincidence. The show revolves around community, the reality of the artists’ lives and the deep connection they feel for each other.
Mulda and Rubuntja grew up in Amoonguna—a camp established by the government in 1963. They separated for most of their adult lives, pursuing art and caring for family, re-connecting as established artists. As Rain recounts, “they had a moment of reflection where they were able to look back and see their accomplishments—established art practices and strong and healthy families.”
The exhibition centres around an animated film Arrkutja Tharra, Kungka Kutjara, Two Girls. “The video presents the retelling of their young lives at Amoonguna, their separation and their re-connection,” Warwick says. Mulda, working at Tangentyere Artists, presents observationalist paintings reflecting on daily life in community, bearing witness to the ongoing brutality of colonial violence experienced by First Nations peoples. Rubuntja, working from Yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre, presents soft sculptures made from natural materials, embodying Country. These works show the resilience of these two women. As Sally explains, “when you are an artist you have got to think in bright colours and lift things up.”
As prominent figures in their communities, Mulda and Rubuntja teach and guide the young people. The voices of their younger selves in the video are narrated by their grandchildren. For these artists, everything comes back to family, back to community, back to home.
An ACMI touring exhibition. Arrkutja Tharra, Kunkga Kutjara, Two Girls is the third Artbank + ACMI Commission, proudly supported and made in collaboration with Ludo Studio.
Two Girls From Amoonguna
Araluen Arts Centre
On now—27 January
This article was originally published in the January/February 2025 print issue of Art Guide Australia.
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