Welcome to Maḏayin Online

When I look at ṉuwayak (bark), I don’t see something flat. It’s like the surface of the water. For us Yolŋu, we dive into family, kinship, land, colors, the strength and the power—it just draws us in.

–WUKUṈ WAṈAMBI

Experience one of the world’s greatest artistic traditions – Indigenous Australian bark painting from Yirrkala – from the perspective of those who shaped it. Yolŋu bark paintings have complex webs of meaning connected to all parts of life. These connections are deep, varied and require years of learning.

Use the category filters to explore the families, ancestral narratives, dates and places that define the artworks in the exhibition Maḏayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Australian Bark Painting from Yirrkala.