Yirrkala drawings

de Cara Pinchbeck, Blake, Andrew (Sculptor), Howard Morphy, John E. Stanton

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, the works have never been shown in any great number. In an unexpected palette of brilliant red, blue, yellow, green and black, they depict in exquisite detail the complexities of Yolngu life and cultural inheritance. They include works by those who became leading artists, including Mawalan and Wandjuk Marika, Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, Narritjin Maymuru and Wongu Mununggurr. The descendants of these artists continue to produce artworks, and a selection of these will also be displayed.--