Dhuwarrwarr Marika (born 1946), also known as Banuminy, a female contemporary Aboriginal artist. She is a

Yolngu The Yolngu or Yolŋu ( or ) 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, Yalnuma ...

artist and community leader from

East Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territorial capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company captain Willem Joosten ...

in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

of Australia. She belongs to the Dhuwa moiety of the

Rirratjingu The Dangu (Dhaŋu, Dhangu) are an Aboriginal Australian people of Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory, one of many Yolŋu peoples. They are, according to Norman Tindale, to be carefully distinguished from the Djaŋu. Two prominent clans ...

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 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 th ...

, 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 Wandjuk Djuwakan Marika OBE (1927 or 1930 – 16 June 1987), was an Aboriginal Australian painter, actor, composer and Indigenous land rights activist. He was a member of the Rirratjingu clan of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land in th ...

(brother),

Banduk Marika Banduk Mamburra Wananamba Marika (13 October 1954 – 12 July 2021), known after her death as Dr B Marika, was an artist, printmaker and environmental activist from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia, who was dedicated to the developme ...

(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 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, Marika was engaged to paint a large

film set A set is artificially constructed scenery used in film and television. In the last two cases there are many reasons to build or use a set instead of travelling to a real location, such as budget, time, the need to control the environment, or the ...

for the film '' Yolngu Boy'', based on the historic Yirrkala Church Panels. Marika has produced

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s for community buildings at Yirrkala, for

Darwin Airport Darwin International Airport is a Domestic Airport, domestic and International Airport, international airport serving Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It is the List of the busiest airports in Australia, eleventh busiest airport in Au ...

, 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 Str ...

, and the Atherton School in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. 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 about 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. The genus is classified ...

and natural dyes, earth pigments on native hibiscus, earth pigments on

ironwood Ironwood is a common name for many woods that have a reputation for hardness, or specifically a wood density that is denser than water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or 62 pounds per cubic foot), although usage of the name ironwood in English ma ...

, and print making. She has created numerous prints at the Yirrkala Print Space at the

Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre The Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, formerly Buku-Larrŋgay Arts and also known as the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum, is an art centre in Yirrkala, Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is often referred to as Buk ...

. 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 The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin. While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strug ...

. Marika and other members of her family, who were passionate advocates for Indigenous rights, became involved in the Gove Land Rights Case 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 The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

* 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. It is currently, , located with the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery on the western side of the Univers ...

at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

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 headquarters of the museum is located in the inner Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin suburb of The Gardens, Northern Territory, The ...

, Darwin *

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultur ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

*Australian Capital Equity Collection, Perth * Nahum Gutman Museum of Art,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, UK * Kerry Packer Collection * Kelton Foundation Collection,

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, USA

Significant exhibitions

* "The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters Story 1937 - 1997" at the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

*"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 Austra ...

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 Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and 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 announ ...