JGM Gallery presents Aak Keenkanam: From The Beginning

JGM Gallery in London presents Aak Keenkanam: From The Beginning, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures from the Wik & Kugu Arts Centre.

The Wik & Kugu Arts Centre, which is located in Aurukun on the west coast of Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, is renowned for its sculptural tradition and its artists’ striking representations of Country. This exciting new exhibition includes paintings and sculptures by Alair Pambegan, Leigh Namponan, Keith Wikmunea, Flora Woolla, Bruce Bell and Lex Namponan.

“Aak” is a Wik-Mungkan word that encapsulates the meanings of “Land”, “Country” and “Home”. In combination with “Keenkanam”, which signifies ancient times in Wik culture, the term can be understood as “Land from the beginning”. What this exhibition conveys, then, is a reverence for Wik land, culture and ancestral wisdom.

Jennifer Guerrini Maraldi, director of JGM Gallery, describes the exhibition as “an exquisite selection of works from the Wik & Kugu region which we are honoured to exhibit, for the first time, outside of Australia.”