Nuwayak - Paintings on Bark

The Centre's artists have won numerous National Aboriginal Art Award competitions for work on bark. The elders have resisted a shift to painting the sacred title deeds of their country on canvas or board using acrylic, opting instead to continue the use of nuwayak, or sheets of bark.

After the wet season deluge, gadayka, the stringybark tree, is stripped of its bark which is then cured by fire, weighted and left to dry. Ochres and earth pigments in red, yellow, black and white are obtained from well known deposits. A brush made of human hair is made. Then the age-old miny'tji, or sacred designs, belonging to each particular artist and their clan are produced using a meticulous layering of individual strokes to produce a cross hatched pattern readable by those with knowledge as belonging to a particular estate, clan, state of water, moiety and place.

We have a wide selection of barks available from $20 up to many thousands of dollars for individual sale and wholesale to shops. We have coordinated exhibitions with galleries throughout Australia and a few overseas.

Prints

Buku-Larrnggay Mulka has established on site a dedicated limited edition print workshop staffed by indigenous print makers. The Centre has produced a wide range of linocuts, screen prints, etchings, lithographs, and collographs. There have been approximately 250 small editions (averaging from 15-35) of which 200 have sold out.

The designs used in these works on paper with 'foreign' media are decorative only and not permitted to extend into ceremonial patterns. This allows artists expressive freedom and the opportunity to use bright colours and 'play' with imagery without compromising their spiritual identity. Many of the artists who have prepared art works for printing are older women and their prints are utterly delightful. Use the link above or click here to visit the Yirrkala Print Space online.

Larrakitj - Memorial Poles

Traditional Yolngu funeral ceremony involves several stages. After the first phase, the body would be left in a shallow grave or on a tree platform. Later, the bones were collected, painted, and placed in a hollow log coffin painted with elaborate designs belonging to clans closely related to the deceased. Along with the songs and dances of mortuary ritual, this helps to guide the soul to its spiritual homeland, and helps the spirits and ancestors there to recognize it.

Since mission times, this practice has all but disappeared in favour of 'normal' burial, with the designs being painted on coffin lids and gravestones, although at times memorial ceremonies are held using logs and possessions of the deceased.

In the past decade, key elders have supported and participated in the emergence of log coffins as some of the finest and most dramatic artwork available in Arnhem Land. Baluka Maymuru and Gulumbu Yunupingu have won Telstra National Aboriginal Art Awards with sets of poles in recent years, and Djambawa Marawili had many in his exhibition in the 2006 Sydney Biennale. Check for works in 'Artworks for Sale' or contact us for more information on availability.

Dharpa - Wood Sculptures

Yolngu artists create sculptures decorated with painted or incised designs. Pieces are available from small decorative objects made from soft woods to larger works in hardwood based on sacred ceremonial objects. Check for works in 'Artworks for Sale' or contact us for more information on availability.

At left are two pieces by Burrngupurrngu Wunungmurra and his wife Djul'djul' Gurruwiwi.

Gunga Djäma - Fibrecraft

The age old practice of weaving bags, baskets and mats from the leaves of the Pandanus and the bark of the Kurrajong continues today. Making these things is very labour intensive. Gathering the materials can be quite exhausting. The spikey pandanus leaves are sometimes difficult to harvest, followed by the careful task of flaying the leaves before hanging them to dry. The dyes used are from the bulbs, roots or bark of various woodland plants. Once the material is collected, trimmed, dried and dyed the weaving begins. This is almost always done by women in groups. Men have been known to weave ceremonial or sacred objects but these are not for sale. The main centres of weaving activity at present in this region are Gapuwiyak, Mapura, Mirrngatja, Dhalinybuy, Yirrkala, Gutjangan and Dhonydji.

Works to the left are by Banbiyak Mununggurr from Dhalinybuy.