Dhuwarrwarr Marika (born 1946), also known as Banuminy, a female contemporary Aboriginal artist. She is a Yolngu artist and community leader from

East Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compan ...

in the Northern Territory of Australia. She belongs to the Dhuwa moiety of the Rirratjingu clan in the homeland of Yalangbara, daughter of Mawalan Marika. Marika is an active bark painter, carver, mat maker, and printmaker.

Early life

Dhuwarrwarr Marika, also known as Banuminy, was born in 1946 in Yirrkala, in the East Arnhem Land area of the Northern Territory. She is a member of the Rirratjingu, Miliwurrwurr group and their language is Dhangu. She is part of the Dhuwa moiety. Dhuwarrwarr Marika is the daughter of Mawalan Marika, who was the leader of the Rirratjingu people, one of the contributors to the Yirrkala bark petitions, and the founder of the Marika artistic dynasty. Her siblings are Wandjuk Marika (brother), Banduk Marika (sister), Bayngul, and Laklak. Dhuwarrwarr learnt how to paint from her father, which was unconventional at the time. She learned the art of

basketry Basket weaving (also basketry or basket making) is the process of weaving or sewing pliable materials into three-dimensional artifacts, such as baskets, mats, mesh bags or even furniture. Craftspeople and artists specialized in making baskets ...

from her mother and aunt. Her father allowed for her to help him with his painting towards the end of his life, when his health was slowly deteriorating. After consultation with his sons, brothers, and other community elders, Dhuwarrwarr was authorised to paint alongside her father, including the painting of sacred designs. After the death of her father, she took a break from painting and when she expressed interest in continuing, she requested permission from her brothers once again. She is believed by many (including

Howard Morphy Howard Morphy (born 13 June 1947) is a British anthropologist who has conducted extensive fieldwork in northern Australia, mainly among the Yolngu people. He was founding director of the Research School of Humanities and the Arts at the Australia ...

and herself) to be the first Yolngu woman to be given permission to paint sacred designs on her own.

Career

After graduating from school, Marika worked as a nurse in Yirrkala, Darwin and Sydney before returning home and developing her artistic skills. Her earliest recorded paintings were completed in the 1970s. Over time, she has become more active in bark painting, carving, mat making, and printmaking. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions around the world from the 1980s onwards, including Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. She has also exhibited work in one solo exhibition, which sold out in a matter of five minutes, titled “Milngurr - Sacred Spring” at the Vivien Anderson Gallery in Melbourne in 2008. In 1999, together with sisters Gaymala and

Gulumbu Yunupingu Gulumbu Yunupingu (1943 – 10 May 2012), after her death known as Djotarra or Ms Yunupingu, was an Australian Aboriginal artist and women's leader from the Yolngu people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. Early life a ...

, Marika was engaged to paint a large film set for the film ''

Yolngu Boy ''Yolngu Boy'' is a 2001 Australian coming-of-age film directed by Stephen Maxwell Johnson, produced by Patricia Edgar, Gordon Glenn, Galarrwuy Yunupingu and Mandawuy Yunupingu, and starring Sean Mununggurr, John Sebastian Pilakui, and Nathan ...

'', based on the historic

Yirrkala Church Panels Mungurrawuy Yunupingu (c.1905–1979) was a prominent Aboriginal Australian artist and leader of the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu people of northeastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. He was known for his bark paintings. ...

. Marika has produced murals for community buildings at Yirrkala, for Darwin Airport, the

Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education (BIITE, generally known as Batchelor Institute and formerly known as Batchelor College) provides training and further education, and higher education for Aboriginal Australians and Torres St ...

, and the Atherton School in Queensland. Her artistic style combines Rirratjingu sacred designs from her father with more contemporary elements. The mediums that she often uses include earth pigments on

stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many ''Eucalyptus'' species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular messmate strin ...

, earth pigments on stringybark hollow poles,

pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

and natural dyes, earth pigments on native hibiscus, earth pigments on ironwood, and print making. She has created numerous prints at the Yirrkala Print Space at the

Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre Yirrkala is a small community in East Arnhem Region, Northern Territory, Australia, southeast of the large mining town of Nhulunbuy, on the Gove Peninsula in Arnhem Land. Its population comprises predominantly Aboriginal Australians of the ...

. At the Yirrkala Print Space, Marika works alongside other female artists. She considers her artwork as a means of passing her culture to the next generations and a way of sharing her culture with the outside world.

Political involvement

Marika is an executive member and women's council representative for the Northern Land Council. Marika and other members of her family, who were passionate advocates for Indigenous rights, became involved in the

Gove Land Rights Case ''Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd'', also known as the Gove land rights case because its subject was land known as the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory, was the first litigation on native title in Australia, and the first significant lega ...

of 1971. This case eventually led to the passing of the first land rights legislation in Australia. As a senior statesperson for her people, Marika has participated in numerous local and national committees. In 1993, she was invited to Europe as a speaker for the opening of the international travelling exhibition ''Aratjara - Art of the First Australians''.

Collections

Marika's work is featured in major public collections across the world, including: * Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia * National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne * National Gallery of Australia, Canberra * Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney *

Berndt Museum of Anthropology The Berndt Museum of Anthropology is an anthropological museum in Perth, Western Australia, founded in by Ronald Berndt and Catherine Berndt. The Berndt Museum is currently located with the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery on the western side of th ...

at the University of Western Australia, Perth *

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory The Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT) is the main museum in the Northern Territory. The museum is located in the inner Darwin suburb of Fannie Bay. The MAGNT is governed by the Board of the Museum and Art Gallery of the ...

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

* South Australian Museum, Adelaide *Australian Capital Equity Collection, Perth *

Nahum Gutman Museum of Art The Nahum Gutman Museum of Art is an art museum located in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, Israel. The Museum resides in the historical Writers' Home, which was built in 1887 and was one of the first buildings in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood. Between ...

, Tel Aviv,UK * Kerry Packer Collection * Kelton Foundation Collection, Santa Monica, USA

Significant exhibitions

* "The Painters of the

Wagilag The Wawalag sisters, also written as Wauwaluk Wawilak Waggilak, Wagilag, or Wawalik, are ancestral creator beings whose story is part of "the most widespread" sacred rituals in the Aboriginal culture from Arnhem land, Northern Territory, Austr ...

Sisters Story 1937 - 1997" at the National Gallery of Australia *"Balnnhdurr - A Lasting Impression" - Touring Exhibition *"Saltwater Country - Bark Paintings from Yirrkala" - A National Tour in Australia *"Milngurr - The Sacred Spring" at the Vivien Anderson Gallery *

Tarnanthi Tarnanthi (pronounced tar-nan-dee) is a Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art held in Adelaide, South Australia, annually. Presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in association with the South Austral ...

2019/20 at the Art Gallery of South Australia * "Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka: Mittji" (2019), at the Hugo Michell Gallery * "Grey Areas" (2017) Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery NYC

Awards

* 1990: Professional Development grant, from the Aboriginal Arts Unit of the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...