Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy Mungaran (Gamilaroi Tribe) - Big Roo, 1996, Acrylic On Canvas, 7 1/2 x 8 Inches. Copyright Peter Mulcahy.
Given to Me by one of my best friends, David Babian, on the occasion of his return from Australia to the States. Hi, David!!!
Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy Mungaran lives in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. He is an Aboriginal artist and descendant from the Gamilaroi Nation of Northern New South Wales, Australia, and paints under the label of "Mungaran", the Kimilaroi word for "Hawk". Peter is a self-taught artist who paints with great passion and soul. He has spent many years teaching young children about Aboriginal culture and has been very successful because he is a great storyteller.
The Aborigine, like the Christians, had their own mythology that explained the origin of the world. Their beliefs explain their close association with the land, which has continued to develop over thousands of years. These myths gave unity and purpose to Aboriginal societies in the past and are important today in maintaining their identity. Peter's artwork is an accurate reflection of this belief.
Peter Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy's artist statement is as follows:
"My passion is to paint my stories.
Paramount is my desire to teach and learn.
A knowingness comes over me, an exciting confidence in the story flooding my mind. I attempt to capture our culture as it was, as it is and paint again what it could be.
I wish to re-invigor and help transplant those beliefs, knowings and understandings of our land, creation, spirit and our selves into the hearts, of not only our own young indigenous people but into the hearts of all those who find affinity with it.
Like my ancestors, I am a storyteller. My ART is just my figurative form of language.
I consider what I do a privilege, while knowing it to be a responsibility."
