Kunapipi dancers
1963

• Mick Magani

The artist represents three male dancers adorned with rarrk body paintings and wearing ceremonial headdresses for the Kunapipi ceremony, often performed for the initiation of young men. The work, from relatively early in the artist’s oeuvre, shows his intuitive drawing style and is unusual for its negative space. Like many of the early barks on display in Bark Salon, Kunapipi dancers was gifted to the NGV decades after it was made. This reflects the early to mid-twentieth century perception of First Nations art that typically saw these works acquired into the ethnographic collections of museums and universities. There are some exceptions, however, including a selection of works on display in Bark Salon that were acquired in the 1950s. Today, thanks to the generosity of donors, institutions such as the NGV are securing these works so the public can appreciate their cultural, aesthetic and political significance.