William King Jungala | 'Celebration Of Life, 2007' | 120x180cm

Code: DDWK07111

Artist: William King Jungala

Title: Celebration Of Life

Area: Katherine, NT

Community: Gurindji / Waanyi

Medium: Acrylic On Canvas

Size: 120x180cm

Year: 2007

William King Jungala built his practice around the idea that nothing in life has a beginning or an end, and his circular motion paintings are the clearest expression of that belief. Drawing on knowledge passed to him by his father and his grandfather, a Gurindji desert elder, he painted fire, water, earth and air as forces in constant exchange with one another. Celebration Of Life belongs to this way of working, where the turning circle stands for the interconnectedness of land, people and time rather than any single fixed story.

William King Jungala was born in Katherine, Northern Territory, a proud member of the Gurindji people, whose skin name was Jungala. His deep cultural grounding came from early childhood spent with his father, of the Waanyi people, and his grandfather, a well-travelled Gurindji desert elder who passed down the stories and knowledge of Country that would shape his worldview and his art. At eighteen he moved to Adelaide and completed an apprenticeship in carpentry, but his true passion remained painting, and by 1994 he had committed to it fully. He developed a distinctive style blending traditional Aboriginal symbolism with a contemporary, urban aesthetic, and his characteristic use of circular motion expressed his belief that nothing has a beginning or an end, a visual statement of the interconnectedness of life, nature and time. His work drew heavily on his connection to land and culture, often working through fire, air, earth and water, symbolic of the harmony his people sought with natural forces. His work was selected for exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in British Columbia during the 1994 Commonwealth Games, and he exhibited widely across Australia with works collected internationally. His paintings continue to resonate for their depth, detail and spiritual intensity.