Return (Balang T.E. Lewis)

Balang TE Lewis (1958–2018), a Murrungun man, was an actor, singer, songwriter and cultural leader. Born in Arnhem Land to a Murrungun/Nunggubuyu mother and a Welsh father who soon left them, he worked in a variety of jobs to support the family before training as a mechanic in Darwin. His breakout role as an actor came when the casting director for The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) spotted him at an airport and cast him in the title role. He went on to appear in many television productions and films including We of the Never Never (1985), The Proposition (2005), Red Hill (2010) and Goldstone (2016). His theatre credits included Shadow King (2013), an interpretation of King Lear performed in English and multiple Aboriginal languages, and the Darwin Theatre Company's production of Othello (2006). His debut album Sunshine After Rain was awarded Music Release of the Year at the Northern Territory Indigenous Music Awards in 2006. In 2001, after 40 years away from his country, Lewis returned permanently to Arnhem Land to heal and reconnect with his culture. His journey was described in the documentary Finding Maawirrangga (2017).

Philip Myers took this photograph during the filming of Finding Maawirrangga. In the film, Lewis travels alone by boat to find the legendary sandy island of Maawirrangga in the western Gulf of Carpentaria.

Gift of the artist 2019