nyalun-dundiwuy-2-munungurr-dec
Homeland: Waṉḏawuy
Clan: Djapu, Balamumu
Moiety: Dhuwa
Story from the artist in the late 1990’s while working as a printmaker.
“In 1967 I finished school and wanted to work in the school as a Teaching Assistant in the old two schools that was burnt down last year. The school in those years was run by the Missionaries, it was a very hard task for us as we went through Education in those early days. Then in 1968 the school was taken by the N.T. Government as it is run now. I worked as a teacher, in every class from Infants, Primary, Post-Primary, and Secondary, I wasn’t married then. Then in 1969 I went to Kormilda College for my first Teaching Assistant Course, it was a 12 months period then I came back as a Grade 1.teacher. Then in 1972 I went to do my Second Year Course in Kormilda College for the same period of time, It was a good training for me, I liked my job as being a Teacher. I didn’t had any other job in those years. Then in 1975 I went to do my Third Year Course in Bachelor College. It was a one-year course. When I came back I got married and I had a daughter in that year. Then the ŋaḻapaḻ yolŋu (old people) wanted to put Gumatj Language into the school as a Bilingual Language to be taught, so the children grew up in learning two languages. In my lifetime there was a lot of changes with the Mining, the land, the people, the Homelands being established, the population and the yolŋu itself going in and out that’s why you see people are located in their small areas. Then the new school had been put up on the top. I was still working in the school, I worked in two sections in Laynhapuy Homeland as a Visiting Teacher for two years and in the main school. All my children grew up I was still working for the school. I worked for the Department for 27 years, until to the year when I decided to resign from work, because all my children were all grown up. In 1994 I resigned from work and stayed at home for two and a half years without any job, so I decided to look for a job and I found myself being in the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre. Part of my life I was being taught in the Yolŋu rom the Culture, Gurruṯu Kinship, Language, Miny’tji, Ḻikan etc. In 1974 I took school children on an excursion to Daru, Wewak, and Mt. Hagen in Papua New Guinea.
Then in 1986 I took another group to New Zealand on a Cultural Exchange Group,and also in 1988 I took Homeland children to Kakadu National Park on a Study trip. So there has been a lot of experience for me all through the years on cultural way of learning and Western way. My work role in the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre is an associate print maker, I work with Marrnyula Munuŋgurr printing lino on paper with pressure, we do a lot of printing for Homelands, and Yirrkala yolŋu. They do themselves the image and use razors to cut open the pieces of lino. Lot of our work has been framed and sent away or sold to people. Buku-Larrŋgay offers a lot of Arts and Crafts to bring in from Homelands and Yirrkala. Also there is a training going on for Marrnyula and myself on a monthly basis learning office work and getting on with the Data Base skills”.
Nyaluŋ took up a position in the school in 2003 but continues to be closely involved with her art centre.
She is a stylistic innovator who pioneered the etching back of screenprint fields to create a novel and exciting style, which has been followed by many artists. Her first two larrakitj were each technically innovative and unique. She was the first to follow the wood grain with purely decorative lines. The first to use the etching back technique in ochre. The first to make etched marks in wet paint in screenprint and the first to place designs directly onto unpainted larrakitj.
