Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional owners
of the land in which our Sydney gallery stands.
We pay our respects to indigenous Elders past, present and emerging.
Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin acknowledge the Gadigal people as the traditional owners of the land on which our Sydney gallery stands.
We pay our respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and emerging.
dap – to meet, to come together; two separate parts at the point of union.
In the work of Djirrirra Yukuwa Wunuŋmurra we see the uncommon meeting of two profoundly distinct stylistic approaches. Two separate parts to the whole forming a complex portrait of the artist; grounded in one hand by the continuation of a sacred geometric clan design (Buyku), and in the other, by a declaration of self through a complex, personal, floral motif (Yukuwa).
The Buyku miny’tji is an intricate diamond pattern; gridded, angular, and mathematically precise. It is the Dhalwaŋu clan design of the Yirritja moiety, a design given to the artist by her father, the renowned artist and Dhalwaŋu clan leader, Yaŋgarriny Wunuŋmurra (1932–2003).
It was when Wunuŋmurra’s right to paint Buyku was challenged by a family member that she chose a different motif representing one of her own names, Yukuwa. Sinuous, floral and fractal, the design refers to an endlessly unfurling yam flower on the vine. The annual reappearance of the yam symbolises the revitalisation of the people and their land. This design, inferred by the artists own name, was incontestable among her people.
This major exhibition, across both Berlin and Sydney, spans both expressions of Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra’s practice, Buyku and Yukuwa. The concurrent designs invite the viewer to comprehend ideas around identities enclosed in Yolŋu philosophical framework. Two parts of the whole self, two designs interwoven - shown across two hemispheres- separate parts at the point of union.
Yolŋu world view is holistic, where every element is connected. Individuals are connected to country, art to ceremony, and dance to song. Lines of integration run through their society and their stories, connecting them to each other and to their shared land. The stories of each clan are embodied in their miny'tji passed down from generation to generation.
By looking through both eyes and painting both her clan and personal designs, Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra shows us two stories, where only one was before.
miny'tji – clan design
dap – to meet, to come together; two separate parts at the point of union.
In the work of Djirrirra Yukuwa Wunuŋmurra we see the uncommon meeting of two profoundly distinct stylistic approaches. Two separate parts to the whole forming a complex portrait of the artist; grounded in one hand by the continuation of a sacred geometric clan design (Buyku), and in the other, by a declaration of self through a complex, personal, floral motif (Yukuwa).
The Buyku miny’tji is an intricate diamond pattern; gridded, angular, and mathematically precise. It is the Dhalwaŋu clan design of the Yirritja moiety, a design given to the artist by her father, the renowned artist and Dhalwaŋu clan leader, Yaŋgarriny Wunuŋmurra (1932–2003).
It was when Wunuŋmurra’s right to paint Buyku was challenged by a family member that she chose a different motif representing one of her own names, Yukuwa. Sinuous, floral and fractal, the design refers to an endlessly unfurling yam flower on the vine. The annual reappearance of the yam symbolises the revitalisation of the people and their land. This design, inferred by the artists own name, was incontestable among her people.
This major exhibition, across both Berlin and Sydney, spans both expressions of Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra’s practice, Buyku and Yukuwa. The concurrent designs invite the viewer to comprehend ideas around identities enclosed in Yolŋu philosophical framework. Two parts of the whole self, two designs interwoven - shown across two hemispheres- separate parts at the point of union.
Yolŋu world view is holistic, where every element is connected. Individuals are connected to country, art to ceremony, and dance to song. Lines of integration run through their society and their stories, connecting them to each other and to their shared land. The stories of each clan are embodied in their miny'tji passed down from generation to generation.
By looking through both eyes and painting both her clan and personal designs, Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra shows us two stories, where only one was before.
miny'tji – clan design
dap – to meet, to come together; two separate parts at the point of union.
In the work of Djirrirra Yukuwa Wunuŋmurra we see the uncommon meeting of two profoundly distinct stylistic approaches. Two separate parts to the whole forming a complex portrait of the artist; grounded in one hand by the continuation of a sacred geometric clan design (Buyku), and in the other, by a declaration of self through a complex, personal, floral motif (Yukuwa).
The Buyku miny’tji is an intricate diamond pattern; gridded, angular, and mathematically precise. It is the Dhalwaŋu clan design of the Yirritja moiety, a design given to the artist by her father, the renowned artist and Dhalwaŋu clan leader, Yaŋgarriny Wunuŋmurra (1932–2003).
It was when Wunuŋmurra’s right to paint Buyku was challenged by a family member that she chose a different motif representing one of her own names, Yukuwa. Sinuous, floral and fractal, the design refers to an endlessly unfurling yam flower on the vine. The annual reappearance of the yam symbolises the revitalisation of the people and their land. This design, inferred by the artists own name, was incontestable among her people.
This major exhibition, across both Berlin and Sydney, spans both expressions of Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra’s practice, Buyku and Yukuwa. The concurrent designs invite the viewer to comprehend ideas around identities enclosed in Yolŋu philosophical framework. Two parts of the whole self, two designs interwoven - shown across two hemispheres- separate parts at the point of union.
Yolŋu world view is holistic, where every element is connected. Individuals are connected to country, art to ceremony, and dance to song. Lines of integration run through their society and their stories, connecting them to each other and to their shared land. The stories of each clan are embodied in their miny'tji passed down from generation to generation.
By looking through both eyes and painting both her clan and personal designs, Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra shows us two stories, where only one was before.
miny'tji – clan design
