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L O O K I N G A H E A D I N 2 0 1 4
2 0 1 3 R E V I E W
In 1946–47, the senior ceremonial leaders of the Yirrkala
region produced 365 vibrant crayon drawings on paper for the
anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt. Held by the Berndt
Museum of Anthropology at the University of Western Australia,
these fully annotated works are rarely displayed, and never before
in such numbers. In an unexpected palette of red, blue, yellow, green
and black, the works depict in exquisite detail the complexities of
Yolngu life and cultural inheritance. The Berndt collection includes
works by those who would become the leading artists of the Yirrkala
community, including Mawalan and Wandjuk Marika, Munggurrawuy
Yunupingu, Narritjin Maymuru and Wongu Mununggurr.
YIRRKALA DRAWINGS
12 APRIL – 13 JULY 2014 | QAG
Mowarra Ganambarr
|
Djang’kawucreated
waterholeonDätiwuyestate
1947 | Lumber crayon
and graphite on butcher’s paper | 115 x 74cm |
Ronald M and Catherine H Berndt Collection, Berndt
Museum of Anthropology, University of Western
Australia, Perth | WU6983 | © Estate of the artist
An Art Gallery of New South Wales
exhibition in partnership with
