Joseph Williams Jungurayi

Joseph Williams Jungurayi is a founding member of the Tennant Creek Brio. He is a writer, poet, multimedia artist, carver and emerging cultural leader of the Warumungu community. One of the last 20 or so remaining Warumungu speakers in Tennant Creek, he has worked as a translator for numerous publications and documents relating to the Brio and is a director for Papulu Appar-Kari Language and Cultural Centre. Williams began his carving as a teenager during the mid 1990s, following in the footsteps of his grandfather Nat Jupurula Williams and being taught by his second grandfather Walter Pula Nelson. “They made them the hard way”, says Williams, with an axe and wood rasp, whereas Williams now utilises a range of modern tools on mostly hardwood to create various reinvented traditional objects including spears, shields, and boomerangs. He has recently begun experimenting with installation and video work and also with figurative realism, drawing inspiration from his Warumungu and Croatian heritage. Amongst other forays he co-directed (with Peter Pecotić) the film Countryman 2021, broaching his Croatian heritage and opened various exhibitions and launches with his singing and poetry performances. Williams’ work was exhibited at Croatia house and in Cockatoo Island and Artspace for the 2020 Biennale of Sydney, and at Modern Times during 2022 Melbourne Design Week. Currently working for Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre he is also on the board of Desart, the peak arts body for Central Australian Aboriginal Arts and Crafts centres. Joseph believes in the value and success of the Brio as a role model for the younger generation.