Naminapu "Nami" Maymuru-White (born 1952) is a senior

Yolŋu The Yolngu or Yolŋu () are an aggregation of Aboriginal Australian people inhabiting north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. ''Yolngu'' means "person" in the Yolŋu languages. The terms Murngin, Wulamba, Yalnumata, M ...

artist of North 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 The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...

of Australia. She is known for representing her the

songline A songline, also called dreaming track, is one of the paths across the land (or sometimes the sky) within the animist belief systems of the Aboriginal cultures of Australia which mark the route followed by localised "creator-beings" in the Dre ...

s of her clan, the Maŋgalili group, especially the stars and their reflections in the local rivers. She has been invited to exhibit at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

in July 2024.

Early life and education

Naminapu Maymuru-White was born in 1952 at Djarrakpi in North East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, into the Maŋgalili clan of Yolŋu people (an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

people of northern Australia). Mentored by her father Nänyin Maymuru (1918–1969) and his

Narritjin Maymuru Narritjin Maymuru (died 1981) was a Yolngu people artist and activist noted for Bark painting. He began painting in the 1940s after time as a cook. After decades of work in 1979 he, and his son, became visiting artists at the Australian Nationa ...

(1922–1982), both senior Maŋgalili artists lawmen, she was one of the first Yolŋu women to be taught to paint ''miny'tji'' (sacred clan designs). She attended the

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

mission school, afterwards working in the mission store and craft shop and at the local bank. She became known as "Nami".

Career

Maymuru-White moved with her family (husband and young children) to the

homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethni ...

of Gurka'wuy after its establishment in 1973. There she worked as a teacher trainee, and afterwards trained as a teacher in Yirrkala. Maymuru-White lived in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and Darwin for some time with her second husband. In 1985 she returned to live at Yirrkala, now a self-governed Indigenous community, with her family, and started teaching art at the local school. She then began working at the craft shop attached to Buku-Larrŋgay Arts, and in 1990 was appointed

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the newly-established art museum attached to the centre. She remained in this position until 1996.

Art practice

As well as painting, Maymuru-White is skilled in carving,

screen-printing Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...

, and

batik Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...

. Her earlier work consisted mainly of ''miny'tyi'', but Maymuru-White developed her own original designs that also relate to her clan identity. Maymuru-White is especially known for her work illustrating the Yolŋu concept of ''Milŋiyawuy'', an epic songline that connects terrestrial and spiritual themes. She paints on

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

larrakitj A memorial pole, also known as hollow log coffin, burial pole, lorrkkon, ḻarrakitj, or ḏupun, is a hollow tree trunk decorated with elaborate designs, made by the Yolngu and Bininj peoples of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Aus ...

(memorial poles), and canvas, using a traditional fine brush made of human hair tied to a wooden

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roastin ...

, called the ''marwat''. The ''Milŋiyawuy'' songline relates the story of two ancestral spirits known as Guwak who travelled from the Maŋgalili homeland ( south of Yirrkala, down the Milŋiya River. Upon reaching the mouth, their vessel capsized, and their spirits were transformed into stars, known to non-Indigenous people as the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...

. Her Milky Way paintings are created using black and white stone and clay pigments, and comprise streams of stars. The connection between the earthly, space, and spiritual elements reflects the Maŋgalili view that there is no separation between them. It is meant to represent a journey after death to a place where people can feel comforted. Her work was displayed at the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum. The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...

in 2021 where she presented her piece, Riŋgitjmi Gapu, further elaborating upon her conception of the Milŋiyawuy. The title Riŋgitjmi Gapu roughly translates to 'river of Heaven and Earth', and the work depicts the Milŋiyawuy river also known as the

. Riŋgitjmi Gapu is a vinyl floor-based artwork placed directly in the entrance of the NGV allowing the audience to walk across the stars which unite us all. She sees an important part of her work as teaching young people their culture. Maymuru-White has travelled around Australia as well as to Japan for her work, but now lives and works in

Recognition and awards

* 1996:

Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award The National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) is Australia's longest running Indigenous art award. Established in 1984 as the National Aboriginal Art Award by the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory in Darwin ...

for "Best Work on Paper", for ''Nyapilingu'' * 1998: Joint runner-up,

National Indigenous Heritage Art Award The Australian Heritage Commission (AHC), was the Australian federal government authority established in 1975 by the ''Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975'' as the first body to manage natural and cultural heritage in Australia until its de ...

, Normandy Art Award, for her bark ''Maŋgalili'' * 2005: Wandjuk Marika 3D Memorial Award, for a Milŋiyawuy memorial poles

Exhibitions and collections

Maymuru-White's work has often been included in group exhibitions both in Australia and internationally, and is represented in most Australian major institutional collections as well as several overseas ones.

Selected exhibitions

Her work was exhibited along with that of Bandak Marika, another woman artist from Yirrkala, at

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1990. In 2019 and 2020, the solo exhibitions, ''River of Stars'' at Salon Art Projects, Darwin, and ''Approximately Infinite Universe'' at The Cross Arts Projects in

, sold out. In February/March 2022 an exhibition of her work entitled ''Milŋiyawuy—The River of Heaven and Earth'', was exhibited at Sullivan+Strumpf, a commercial gallery in

with whom she had established a business relationship. In March 2024,

Art Basel Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel, Switzerland; Miami Beach; Hong Kong and from 2022, Paris. Art Basel works in collaboration with the host city's local institutions to help ...

Hong Kong exhibited installations by Maymuru-White and Sydney Aboriginal/Pacific Islander artist Daniel Boyd. Maymuru-White was invited to exhibit at the

in July 2024, as part of the first ever

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

-led delegation. Along with several of her canvases, the work of

Wadawurrung The Wathaurong nation, also called the Wathaurung, Wadawurrung and Wadda Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people living in the area near Melbourne, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula in the state of Victoria. They are part of the Kulin a ...

artist Marlene Gilson and

Kamilaroi The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

and

Bigambul The Bigambul people are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Tablelands and Border Rivers regions of New South Wales and Queensland. Name In the traditional language, the name of this group is derived from the Bigambul word ''biga'' o ...

artist

Archie Moore Archie Moore (born Archibald Lee Wright; December 13, 1913 – December 9, 1998) was an American professional boxer and the longest reigning World Light Heavyweight Champion of all time (December 1952 – May 1962). He had one of the longest ...

will be exhibited at the Biennale. Maymuru-White was not at first keen on making the trip, but her 24-year-old grandson, musical artist and arts worker Ngalakan (Billy) Wanambi, encouraged her and will travel with her and give a welcome

yidaki The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

performance at the event.

Selected collections

Collections and galleries holding Maymuru-White's work include: * Fondation Opale in Switzerland * Kerry Stokes Collection (larrakitj) *

Kluge-Ruhe Museum The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia houses one of the finest Indigenous Australian art collections in the world, rivaling many of the collections held in Australia. It is the only museum outside Australia dedica ...

, University of Virginia, US *

Personal life

Maymuru-White has three children by her first husband. She later married Leon White, who was teaching in the Northern Territory, and lived in Melbourne and Darwin for several years before returning to Yirrkala in 1985.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maymuru-White, Naminapu 1952 births 20th-century Australian women artists 21st-century Australian women artists Yolngu people Arnhem Land Australian Aboriginal artists Living people