Patrick Mung Mung is a senior artist at Warmun Art Centre and an elder at Warmun Community in the East Kimberley. Painting with natural earth pigments on canvas is a significant aspect of his art practice. His knowledge of his country and his cultural memory of family, land and work are powerfully linked in his work. Like his late father, George Mung Mung, Patrick is a strong crosscultural communicator. Patrick’s work is influenced by the previous generation of Warmun artists, which include Rover Thomas and Paddy Jaminji - in its raw directness and composition.
Mung Mung was born at Spring Creek and worked as a stockman for many years on Texas Downs Station and nearby stations in the East Kimberley. He was the last worker to leave Texas Downs when it closed down in the 1970s. In 1991 following his father’s death, it fell to him to accompany his father’s carving ‘Mary of Warmun’ to Canberra for the exhibition ‘Aboriginal Art and Spirituality’ at the High Court of Australia. This occasion marked the beginning of a journey for Patrick, which was to see him take on his father’s role of senior artist, law and culture man. His started painting in 1991, and was instrumental in establishing the artist-and-community-owned art centre at Warmun in 1998. Since that time, Mung Mung has led Gija performances of the Gurirr Gurirr around Australia and in Paris and Canada.