Yalmakany Marawili
Presented by Aboriginal & Pacific Art in association with Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala, NT
18 April - 11 May, 2023
Cover Image: Yalmakany Marawili, Djalkurrk, Gälurra, Munbi, Dhämaŋ, Goŋgatha, Burrpurrrr, Ochre pigments on stringybark, 136.5 x 62 cm
Lukunydja- Bountiful
“Look! How beautiful is the country itself which was given by our old people! And now we are living in their footsteps. Living how they taught us. To see the beauty of the land that we are living in. Look at how rich is the land, which is full of everything! It is bountiful, rich and beautiful.
My paintings are because of my mother, the old lady. She did a lot of paintings of food plants, fruits and medicines available to us Yolŋu. How the old people survived and fed themselves from the land. The old people were so strong and healthy and lived happily for a long time. This is why I have jumped into her footsteps to follow her path. I am building on her work because of all she taught me. Some of the young people in my family are knowledgeable about these plants because we are always teaching them. I have painted some of the tubers that she painted like Ganguri, Buwakul, Ganay, Yukuwa, Rinytjaŋu, Bundjuŋu, and also all the fruits. But mainly I am describing plants that she had not shown yet by the time she passed away.
We use these medicines ourselves. We use Murrtjumun for boils, Nambara for coughs, Butjiriŋaniŋ for healthy skin and body, Borukpili for flu, Luŋiny for eye soreness and Munydjutj for toothache. All of the tubers and fruits I have painted we still eat now. When we go into the rainforest to dig for tubers we always start by eating the ripe fruit first.
The background pattern behind the plants I have painted is just the breeze blowing through the trees and cooling us down. It makes me emotional thinking that my mother would be proud to see her mission continued. My previous jobs have been in art, education and land management and it feels like they all combine to help me pursue this vision of keeping useful plant knowledge alive.”
- Transcript of recording Yalmakany in Buku-Larrnggay 27.3.24
Yalmakany Marawili
Daŋaŋ Borummalany, Heaps of Fruits
#1119-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
153 x 80 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Djalkurrk, Gälurra, Munbi, Dhämaŋ, Goŋgatha, Burrpurrrr
#5287-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
136.5 x 62 cm
Yalmakany Mawawili
Borummalany - Various Fruits
#1269-23
Ochre pigments on stringybark
90 x 52 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Wärrkarrr and Munbi
#5130-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark 99 x 63 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Luŋiny and Burukpili
#5439-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
124 x 75 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Nuwayak Meditjin
#5801-23
Ochre pigments on stringybark
114 x 67 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Nhumurray, Dhämaŋ, Munbi, Djalkurrk
#5052-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
141.5 x 61.5 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Dhatam
#3257-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
95.5 x 47 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Ganay Djakalulu Yukuwa Larrani #4484-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
120 x 68 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Medicinal Plants - Munydjutj and Gunga
#4706-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark
128 x 82 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Walan #6169-23
Ochre pigments on Stringybark 85 x 74.5 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
Luŋiny, Butjiriŋaniŋ, Borukpili, Murrtjumun
#6066-23
Larrakitj
258 x 23 cm
Yalmakany Marawili
DOB: 1956
Homeland: Bäniyala
Clan: Madarrpa, Yithuwa group
Moiety: Yirritja
Yalmakany’s father was legendary leader Wakuthi Marawili, who established the homeland for Madarrpa people at Yilpara on Blue Mud Bay in the 1970s. Her brother is high profile artist and leader Djambawa Marawili AM. She is married to Waninya Marika OAM and has six children, three boys and three girls. Her son Ishmael Marika is an award winning digital and visual artist who is also Creative Director of The Mulka Project. Yalmakany worked at the Yirrkala Arts Centre in the 1980s. She then worked with the Yirrkala School in servicing the homelands schools until the establishment of the Laynhapuy Homelands School. She then moved back to Yilpara and worked as a ranger with Yirralka Rangers for six years.
She has been a prolific painter of bark and memorial poles for some years now and been a successful protaganist of the variations on a theme - painting the saltwater estate of Baraltja. Her first small show at Annandale in 2009 was successful. She exhibited again with her sister Gurrundul in 2010 which was also well received.
In 2022 following the tragic death of her sister’s daughter Yalmakany moved from her remote homeland Baniyala and settled in Yirrkala. She began painting full time at Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka. Her recent works follow her late mother’s focus of illuminating the seasonal fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants of North East Arnhemland. Her paintings are both beautiful and knowledgable and capture essential knowledge for future generations. In 2023 her work was selected for the NATSIAA awards and shown in the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Her first solo show took place at Aboriginal and Pacific Arts in Sydney in 2024.
Yalmakany Marawili
Presented by Aboriginal & Pacific Art in association with Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala, NT
18 April - 11 May, 2024
All images © the artist and the community, Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala, NT