Wild apple orchard
2008
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)
Measurements
173.9 × 69.7 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Lou and Mary Senini, 2010
© Estate of Ms N. Yunupiŋu, courtesy of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala
Gallery location
Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
Ms N. Yunupiŋu was a celebrated Yolŋu artist, renowned for her innovative and experimental approach to mark-making as a way of sharing stories and reflections on her own experiences. When the artist was a young woman, she was attacked by a buffalo in a wild apple orchard, and traces of this terrifying experience are conveyed throughout her significant body of work. Early paintings such as this one show Yunupiŋu’s figurative use of circles to represent apples. Later works show how those same circles have morphed into abstract shapes and meditations on rhythm and tone.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Yirrkala, Northern Territory
Accession Number
2010.521
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation