Artist

Pedro Wonaeamirri’s artistic practice reaffirms his standing as a significant and influential Tiwi artist of generations past and present. A senior cultural leader in his community, Wonaeamirri meticulously depicts the traditional Jilamara design and aesthetic, resulting in a highly sophisticated and contemporary interpretation of his culture. His artworks indicate a profound knowledge of his heritage, combined with a confidence that allows him to approach his compositions with his own unique vision. 

Pedro Wonaeamirri is an active contemporary artist and long-established member of Jilamara Arts and Crafts Aboriginal Association at Milikapiti, Melville Island, Northern Territory and the artist joined the stable of artists at Alcaston Gallery in 1991. In 2000, Wonaeamirri was named Young Australian of the Year in the Arts section. 

In 2017, Pedro Wonaeamirri’s work was exhibited in the major exhibition Defying Empire the National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia; the exhibition traveled to numerous major galleries and institutions until 2020.

In 2020, Pedro Wonaeamirri and Patrick Freddy Puruntatameri were selected to participate in the prestigious Biennale of Sydney, exhibiting a major installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Under the direction of Brook Andrew, NIRIN brings together over 100 artists, creatives and collectives across six sites: Art Gallery of NSW, Artspace, Campbelltown Arts Centre, Cockatoo Island, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the National Art School.  NIRIN which means “edge” in the language of the Wiradjuri people of central NSW offers a space for the 100-plus artists to gather and share, to rejoice, disrupt and reimagine the world, and to challenge dominant narratives. 

In 2021, Wonaeamirri participated in a major exhibition entitled TIWI, at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and was annouced as the winner of the Telstra Multimedia Award at the 38th Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA).

In 2022 Wonaeamirri performed his 2021 NATSIAA award winning work at the Melbourne Design Fair. Wonaeamirri’s work was featured to showcase the expertise and ingenuity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander thinking in the world of contemporary design. In the same year Wonaeamirri was once again named as a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards presented at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT).

In 2024 Wonaeamirri participated in the seminar Indigenous Visions, curated by Professor Brook Garru Andrew, as part of the prestigious Venice Biennale at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy. In the same year, he served as a mentor to emerging Tiwi artist Johnathon World Peace Bush, to produce a body of work for the Country Road + NGV First Nations Commissions for the exhibition My Country, at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia in Melbourne. In addition to three paintings, World Peace Bush also created two collaborative works with Wonaeamirri, including a tunga made by Wonaeamirri that World Peace Bush painted with ochre, and a video work filmed on Country that shows World Peace Bush dancing his totem tartuwali (shark) as Wonaeamirri sings.

Wonaeamirri's work is represented in major institutions including the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; and the Commonwealth Institute, London. He is a senior cultural leader on the Tiwi Islands and is the current Vice President of Jilamara Arts and Crafts Association and a Director for Arnhem, Northern and Kimberley Artists (ANKA). Alongside his esteemed visual art career, he has also published several essays on Tiwi art, culture and ceremony.

© Jilamara Arts & Crafts and Alcaston Gallery, 2024

For an extended CV, please contact Alcaston Gallery at art@alcastongallery.com.au