Clan
Rirratjiŋu
Songline
Djan’kawu
"Art and Country and environment are all one. You can’t separate those three things from each other. Art talks about heritage. Country, in Australia, is divided between thousands of Indigenous people from Western Australia right across to Northern Queensland. Every clan that ever existed in this country has their own Country, and their own environmental stories. And why are these three elements so important to protect today? It’s an identification. It’s about you knowing who you are, where you’ve come from, and where your ancestors are from. Without those identities, you are nobody, you don’t exist."
– BANDUK MARIKA AO
More Info
The gridded patterns in this painting are the miny'tji (designs) belonging to the Rirratjiŋu clan. These designs relate to the arrival of the important Dhuwa ancestral beings known as the Djan'kawu. These two sisters and their brother arrived on the beach of Yalaŋbara from the spirit realm of Burralku. The shimmer of the patterns symbolizes the saltwater drying off their skin in the warming rays of the sun.
This painting was winner of the Bark Painting Award at the 22nd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2005.
Listen to Banduk Marika speak on the importance of art, environment and Country:
– Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre
Additional Information
Decade
2006
Medium
Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark
Dimensions (IN)
65 x 19 11/16
Dimensions (CM)
165 x 50
Credit
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Purchased 2005. Telstra Collection. Abart-1830
Narrative
Rirratjiŋu
The Rirratjiŋu clan belongs to the Dhuwa moiety. The major spiritual themes relate to Yalaŋbara,...
Songline
Djan’kawu
When I was a child, my father would put me on his lap and sing...
Location
2000s
The 2000s saw Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka rise to be one of the most successful Indigenous arts...
About The Artist(s)
Clan
Rirratjiŋu
Artist Dates
1954-2021
Alternative Names
Mamburra, Wananamba
Dr. Banduk Marika AO
In 1972, Banduk Marika moved away from Yirrkala, first to Darwin and then to Sydney, to pursue her artistic career. Best known as a printmaker, she held residencies at Canberra School of Art and Flinders University. In 1988, she returned to Yirrkala to manage the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre. In 2005, she received the bark painting prize at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. In 2018, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Flinders University, and in 2019, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Collections Represented
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Australian Catholic University
Australian Museum
Australian National Maritime Museum
Australian National University
Flinders University Museum of Art
Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia
Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Powerhouse Museum, Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney
Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Queensland Museum
South Australian Museum
Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand