Bungi (“Today”)

“Bungi” means “today” in the language of the Biripi people of the Port Macquarie region. My ancestors came from the Gloucester region but some of our family moved over to Wingham where the Aboriginal men were known to live and work as shepherds and farm hands on a large property called “Bungi-Bungi.” Some of the Biripi Elders today retain the surname of Bungi, passed down over the generations.

The patterns in this work depict this heritage of working on the land in the cultural context of keeping Biripi family ties and ways alive. Although much cultural knowledge has been lost since this time through generations of dispossession, the concept of “Bungi” - “Today” communicates the resilience of the Biripi and their undying cultural strength that has not only survived, but blossomed over time.

Follow

I am a Biripi artist of the Mid-North Coast of NSW and member of the Purfleet-Taree Local Aboriginal Lands Council. I grew up in Armidale NSW on Anaiwan Country and was born in Maitland on Awabakal land. My Aboriginal heritage is Gringai-Biripi-Worimi on my mother’s side. I descend from the Field-Pritchell family of Gloucester/Dungog. My great great uncle (Field) settled in Scone.

My art is about expressing my family story and connection to country through themes of journey and displacement, discovery and the traditional ties to my people related in symbols and stories passed down through the generations. I like to connect these ideas to the land by visually representing the rivers and borders of Country topographically.

I am also an enthusiastic printmaking artist and produce hand pulled linocut prints as well as the acrylic paintings.

I am a doctor in training working on Gumbaynggirr Country and am passionate about improving health care for our people.

Although my skin is not black, my spirit is, and my Aboriginal heritage runs deeply in my blood. Despite dispossession, fragmentation and forgetting, I am so proud to connect to my culture and to others through my Aboriginal art.