John Mawurndjul AM, Australian (1952 - 2024)
SKU: 43162601149

John Mawurndjul AM, Australian (1952 - 2024)

Sale price$12375.00 Regular price$13750.00
Save 10%

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 7 - Jul 12

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

John Mawurndjul AM, Australian (1952 - 2024)Ngarrbek (Echidna) Natural earth pigments on bark 122cm x 40cm (irregular) Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Crafts Cat No MAW33 31 Mary Macha, Perth. Acquired from Mary Macha by the current vendor from the above circa 1980's, where it has remained ever since. Legendary Perth based art dealer Mary Macha was engaged with Indigenous art for almost fifty years. She played a critical role in the development of Aboriginal art in Western Australia, firstly in

Ngarrbek (Echidna)

Natural earth pigments on bark

122cm x 40cm (irregular)

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Crafts Cat No MAW33/31
Mary Macha, Perth.
Acquired from Mary Macha by the current vendor from the above circa 1980's, where it has remained ever since.

Legendary Perth-based art dealer Mary Macha was engaged with Indigenous art for almost fifty years. She played a critical role in the development of Aboriginal art in Western Australia, firstly in the government sector and subsequently as a private dealer. Her clients included Alistair McAlpine (Lord McAlpine) and Robert Holmes a Court. She was the key player in the development of what became known as the East Kimberley School of art and formed a close relationship with many key artists, especially Paddy Jamanji and Rover Thomas.

Balang Nakurulk-John Mawurndjul AM (1952–2024) was the most highly regarded and recognised of our Australian bark painters.
Balang was born in 1952 in Mumeka, a traditional camping ground for members of the Kurulk clan, on the Mann River, about 50 kilometres south of Maningrida. He was a member of the Kuninjku people of West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, and grew up immersed in traditional life with extended family, having only occasional contact with non-indigenous people and culture. Born in the bush south of Maningrida, Balang based his life on Kurulk clan lands, that stretch between the Liverpool, Mann and Tomkinson Rivers and moved between seasonal camps along these rivers with family. This tract of sparsely populated tropical woodland is some 500 kilometres east of Darwin and accessible only by dirt road during the dry season.
Balang was introduced to ritual painting in 1969 by his father Anchor Kulunba (c. 1920 – 1996). Balang's art practices began through his participation in the Mardayin ceremony, where he learned to paint rarrk on bodies and ceremonial objects. In ensuing years, under the instruction of his older brother Jimmy Njiminjuma (1947-2004) and Peter Marralwanga (1916-1987), he became a proficient bark painter developing expertise unique to this form of practice: the harvesting and preparation of the stringy-bark, cartographic knowledge of sacred ochre deposits and skills to grind, mix and fix their coloured pigments, and the fashioning of sedge rushes into delicate single-strand brushes. Under Njiminjuma's watch, Balang was also introduced to long-established Kuninjku conventions dictating subject matter and its iconography, the characteristics of which have been explored at length by anthropologist Luke Taylor in his pioneering analysis of Western Arnhem Land art. According to Luke Taylor, Balang has played a large role in redefining Kuninjku artistic tradition by incorporating ceremonial motifs into contemporary art.
Growing up during the late 20th century, Balang experienced an era when the government of Australia was beginning to have a greater reach into Arnhem Land; a phenomenon that influenced his art throughout his career.
Balang is known for his exceptional use of ‘rarrk'. which is not simply for decoration, rather, it often makes the viewer feel a little unsure of what they are seeing. The way the lines move and shift, gives the artwork a sense of motion or flickering, which draws people in and makes them observe more deeply. This kind of visual confusion actually connects to how Kuninjku people understand their ceremonies, where not everything is meant to be seen clearly or understood right away. Balang's use of rarrk marked a major turning point in bark painting. Mawurndjul was the first bark painter to successfully challenge the hegemony of the Desert and Kimberley styles within the terms of contemporary.
Balang’s 2018–2019 ground-breaking retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary art, John Mawurndjul: I Am the Old and the New, showcased his innovative use of rarrk (crosshatching) and his focus on sacred sites in Arnhem Land. Critics noted that his work challenges the dichotomy between traditional and contemporary art, positioning him as a pivotal figure in redefining Indigenous Australian art within the global contemporary art scene.
Balang was tutored in rarrk, using fine cross-hatching and infill, in the 1970s by his uncle Peter Marralwanga and elder brother Jimmy Njiminjuma and began producing small paintings on bark. In 1979, Balang began painting for the market, in which much of his work were small bark paintings that depicted animals and spirits, including bambirl (echidna), ngaldadmurrng (saratoga fish), birlmu (large barramundi fish), mimih spirits, yawkyawk and Ngalyod (the Rainbow Serpent). Some of his early inspiration draws from Yirawala, Peter Maralwanga, Midjawmidjaw, Paddy Compass, and other artists.
During the 1980’s he began producing larger and more complex works, and in 1988 he won the Rothmans Foundation Award. 1988 also marked the year in which Balang's worked gained heavy momentum being displayed in many exhibitions in Australia and overseas.
Throughout the 90s, Mawurundjul's work was included in major exhibitions displaying Aboriginal Australian art, most notably, Dreamings in New York (1988), Magiciens de la Terre in Paris, France (1989), Crossroads in Japan (1992), Aratjara: Art of the first Australians in Germany and the UK (1993–1994), and In the heart of Arnhem Land in France (2001).
In 2000, Balang's work was amongst that of eight individual and collaborative groups of Indigenous Australian artists shown in the prestigious Nicholas Hall at the Hermitage Museum in Russia. The exhibition received a positive reception from Russian critics, one of whom wrote: "This is an exhibition of contemporary art, not in the sense that it was done recently, but in that it is cased in the mentality, technology and philosophy of radical art of the most recent times” Also in 2000, his work was featured at the Sydney Biennale.
In 2004, twenty-two of Balang's works were curated by Hetti Perkins in Crossing Country at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, in attempts to detach common perception of market engagements with contemporary Aboriginal art, as well the use of bark as a medium. Crossing Country looked at the history of western Arnhem Land's artists and how they communicated and inspired each other.
After completing a major work for Musée du Quai Branly, Balang was recognised by French president, Jacques Chirac, as the 'maestro' at the museum's inauguration. He was also famously photographed in front of the Eiffel Tower in Time magazine.
Many other accolades followed, culminating in 2010, when Balang became a Member of the Order of Australia.

© John Mawurndjul/Copyright Agency, 2025

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 43162601149

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.4 ★★★★★
Based on 748 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
J
Verified Purchase
Jason
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 1
These are cheaply made, and garbage, highly dangerous letting a dog chew on a battery pack
Color: Grid Pattern
These units are garbage. I got one for each of my dogs charged it up turned it on put it inside the rubberized ball shell and securely fastened it less than two minutes later my dog had taken it apart by just biting it and then started to chew on the battery and motor unit. So if you wanna have a lithium polymer fire in your house and potentially kill your animal, go ahead and get this, but if you do not want a fire in your house and you want your animal to live then absolutely do not buy this garbage it’s cheap we made and it’s not strong enough for any dog
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2026
T
Verified Purchase
Tim W
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 4
Good Product, but images over promise just a little.
Color: Ripple Pattern
- Performs well on tile and low pile carpet. On artificial grass it doesn’t roll even on the highest setting; it only vibrates. Watch the video. - Still fun for my pup. I’ve only had it a day so no clue about durability although my dog is a strong chewer. - Price Value: When purchased it was 2 balls for the same price of a single ball from competitor. - Material feels like a Nerf football. Easy to disassemble and charge.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
SW123
Carnegie, US
★★★★★ 5
My dog enjoys it
Color: Ripple Pattern
My dog loves the moving ball! She go chase around it and pretty durable. Comes with two balls in one set.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2026
T
Verified Purchase
Twin Mom
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 5
Best jiggle balls we have found thus far
Color: Ripple Pattern
Yes ! First off this was a great value for the money. The balls function just as described and they have a decent battery life. They entertain both our goldens for a good bit of time. They have so far held up and not been chewed up . We limit the time and put them away after that time.. to avoid them being destroyed. Of all the jiggle balls we have purchased these are by far the best. The way the component is encased in the rubber protects it.. and it screws together very well. I am so pleased with these !
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2025
T
Verified Purchase
Tabs
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Love this set!!!
Size: Medium (2.5"), Style: Fetch Pack 1
I was trying to figure out which of the many different balls this company offers, and I was getting frustrated but then i was SOOOO happy to see they had multiple sets that had multiple of the different balls they offer!! I bought this set and the other set they offer, but this one was my favorite and I think my dogs too! The orange ball works great and bounces just high enough that it doesn’t clear our patio wall, but enough for him to go and jump up to retrieve. But the glow in the dark ball is his favorite! Both me and my pomsky were blown away how we brought the glow in the dark ball outside just as the sun was going down, and when we brought it back inside it was BRIGHT AND GLOWY!!! Even with the sun going down and not much light left!! He loves to play with it in the house after it’s all glowy from the sun. Sometimes we even glow it up under a light inside the house if it’s dark outside, and he will play with it outside in the dark haha he loves it!!! And I think it’s pretty cool too!! All of the balls this company overs are VERY durable! We realized early on that we cannot give our dog regular tennis balls cuz his favorite thing to do is tear the outside fabric off!! So we were trying to figure out what company has the best balls for dogs so they can’t sit there and try to pry them apart, and we found this company!! We have already bought from them about 3 times and all of their balls are durable and bounce how they say they will bounce!! They have the super bouncers and the glow in the dark one and the one with angles that will bounce in different directions and the ones you can throw REALLYY far! Overall, all the balls from this company are very durable, bounce really good, and keep my dog occupied without allowing him to sit there and tear it apart!!! Which i love cuz I do not like when he stops playing with us to sit there and try to take off the fabric, cuz then he could swallow it! So always buy the balls from this company!!! They are the best and most durable!!!! Also plenty soft for your dogs mouth so they can chew on it a bit and it won’t hurt their teeth/gums!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2024

recommand products