Djapu design
2019
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)
Measurements
155.8 × 86.1 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2020
© the artist, courtesy of Buku Larrnggay Mulka
Gallery location
Gallery 3
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
Ms. N. Marawili was a senior Yolŋu artist of the Djapu clan from Yirrkala in north- east Arnhem Land. In 2018 she began a distinctive series using found paper, later applying the same designs to ḻarrakitj (memorial poles). These works marked a departure from tradition by omitting the use of a marwat (human-hair brush) while still referencing the sacred grid design of Djapu freshwater at Wandawuy. This design alludes to ancestral fish traps, ridgelines and the billabong network inhabited by Mäna the ancestral shark. The work honours Yolŋu knowledge while expressing narrative through a minimalist, stripped-back design.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Yirrkala, Northern Territory
Inscription
inscribed (vertically) in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.l.: 2568–19 / AK21877
inscribed (vertically) in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.: AK21877
Accession Number
2020.149
Department
First Nations Australia