by Chris Boylan
Photographer and author; above all, a person of great learning, wisdom and generosity.
Jutta was educated in Switzerland where her father was the German Consul-General, but after his death in 1934, she and her mother returned to their home in Berlin, and lived there throughout the Second World War. Jutta studied philosophy and art at Berlin University, and later photography at the Lette Verein; every day she passed beneath the statue of Alexander von Humboldt, who inspired her desire to explore the Pacific. In 1948 she and her mother (who was born in Sydney) moved to live in Australia.
Jutta worked with P&O Cruises as their chief photographer for almost 20 years (1951-69) and visited almost every inhabited island in the Pacific. During the 1970s and 1980s she was the photographer co-authoring many books on Sydney, pottery and her developing interest in Aboriginal culture. Her love of Pacific cultures led her to in-depth studies of Pacific and Australian Aboriginal peoples. From this devoted research, emerged books and films about the Wandjina paintings of the Kimberley region of Western Australia and the Kula Ring of the Massim of Papua New Guinea.
A dear friend was David Mowaljarlai, her co-author of “Yorro Yorro”. Also during this period of her life, she made 15 expeditions to Papua New Guinea. Jutta was especially close to Trobriand Island leaders – Nalubutau, the Paramout Chief with whom she travelled on several Kula voyages, and John Kasaipwalova, who helped enormously with her book.
Jutta never had a piece of paper saying she was an “anthropologist”, but she had a natural talent, attention to subtle detail, and connection with people, giving her wonderful insights that she expressed in a very profound and poetic way.
Jutta’s home at Fox Valley Road at Wahroonga in the leafy northern suburbs of Sydney, designed by her architect husband, Sergei, where her children, Nicola and Julian grew up, was a lively place. It became a meeting hub for all her friends and colleagues, and especially her Pacific and Australian aboriginal friends; and there were so many happy gatherings over these years. Because of her numerous travels, Jutta mischievously stated one of her great achievements was “avoiding divorce”.
She was a dedicated supporter of the Oceanic Art Society since its inception, and for many of us Jutta was a great force of inspiration.
Publications include:
Malnic, Jutta, 2002. Gilabwala and his Sister: A Trobriand Legend told by Chief Nalubutau. Sydney: Cowrie Books
Malnic, Jutta and Mowaljarlai, David, 1993. Yorro Yorro – Spirit of the Kimberley Broome: Magabala Books
Malnic, Jutta with Kasaipwalova, John 1998. Kula – Myth and Magic in the Trobriand Islands Sydney: Cowrie Books
Film:
Kula – Ring of Power 1992. [video-tape] Director: Michael Balson; Produced by National Geographic Explorer usa, zdf Germany, Finnish Broadcasting Corporation, and Sky Visuals; available to view at:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/72q0b1mjon3t2bu/KULA%20RING%20OF%20POWER.mov?dl=0
Photographic Exhibitions include:
The Face of Arnhem Land, 1977 at Wahroonga, NSW
Antarctic Flight, 1978, Wahroonga, NSW
Aboriginal Rock Paintings, 1986 at Iwalewa Haus, University of Bayreuth, Germany, followed by a number of banks in Germany
Papua New Guinea – The Highlands, Lowlands and Islands, 1991 at Commonwealth Bank, Martin Place, Sydney
A Bird at the End on the World and Rock Paintings of Aboriginal Australia, 1995 at Iwalewa Haus, Bayreuth University, Germany, followed by Australian Embassy, Bonn; Australian Embassy, Bern
Mwaga, a Bird at the End of the World 2017-18 at Goethe-Institut, Sydney, followed by the Burrinja Cultural Centre, Melbourne; Goethe-Institut, Wellington; Australian Embassy, Berlin