Alair Pambegan

Cermonial Clan

Winchanam

Language(s)

Wik-Mungkan

Country

Alair Pambegan is a Wik-Mungkan man who lives in the western Cape York community of Aurukun in North Queensland. Pambegan is the son of revered lawman, elder and artist Arthur Koo’ekka Pambegan Jr and heir to the Wik-Mungkan artistic traditions.  His father was custodian for Walkaln-aw (Bonefish Story Place) and Kalben (Flying Fox Story Place), two significant ancestral narratives and associated story places along the Archer River, in the heart of Wik-Mungkan country. Pambegan was handed down stories and responsibilities from his father. His practice includes large-scale semi-abstract paintings on canvas, and his installation works are made from milkwood painted with ochres and charcoal. He draws on the stories and law poles of his father, creating vibrant and innovative interpretations of the ancestral narratives (QAGOMA).

 

EXHIBITIONS

AAK KEENKANAM, From the Beginning, JGM Gallery, London, 2023.

Sydney Contemporary – Tim Klingender Fine Art Gallery, 2022

RITUAL – Cairns Art Gallery, 2020

Kalban Installation – Queensland Art Gallery, 2017

Exhibition History

2018 Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair 2018, Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, Cairns QLD

2009 Aurukun Artists, Yuk Wiy Min (Wood and Other Things), Andrew Baker Gallery, Brisbane QLD

2015 Alair Pambegan , Alaska Projects, Sydney NSW

2014 John Fries Award 2014 Finalists Exhibition, UNSW Gallerie, Sydney NSW

2018 APT9 - ‘The 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA, Brisbane QLD

2019 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair 2019, Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal, Cairns QLD