Djambawa Marawili facts for kids

Djambawa Marawili AM (born 1953) is a famous Aboriginal Australian artist. He is known for his amazing bark paintings, wood sculptures, and prints. He is also a talented musician who released an album in 2008. Marawili is a strong leader for his people, working to connect the Yolngu people with others.

About Djambawa Marawili

Djambawa Marawili was born in 1953 in a place called Baniyala in East Arnhem Land, Australia. His father was Wakuthi Marawili. The artist Mulkun Wirrpanda is his mother through a special kinship connection.

His father gave him the name Djambawa just before he passed away. This powerful name means "the source of the fire on the rock in the sea." His father also taught him many important songs and stories about his land and culture.

Marawili's kinship mother, Mulkun Wirrpanda, is also a respected artist. She is known as a leader in the Yolngu community because of her deep knowledge. She creates art on bark, memorial poles, and didgeridoos. She also carves, weaves, and makes prints.

Djambawa Marawili is married to Liawaday Wirrpanda, who is also an artist. They live in Blue Mud Bay with their children. Marawili is a senior leader in the Madarrpa clan of the Yolngu people. He helps lead important ceremonies and looks after the spiritual well-being of his community. He knows the languages, designs, and stories of his own clan and others.

Marawili acts as a bridge between the Yolngu people and non-Aboriginal people. He helps everyone understand and respect Aboriginal culture. For the Yolngu people, he is like a very important leader, similar to an Archbishop or Premier. He uses his deep knowledge of Yolngu law and culture to guide his community.

The Madarrpa Clan

The Madarrpa clan is part of the Yirritja moiety, which is like a large family group. This clan is connected to the Gumatj and Munyuku clans through an ancestral crocodile named Bäru. According to some Aboriginal beliefs, Bäru first created fire and spread it across the water, connecting these clans.

As a senior leader, Djambawa Marawili is very involved in his clan's ceremonies. Besides Bäru, another important symbol in their ceremonies is Mundukul, the ancestral lightning snake. An elliptical sand structure called yinyapunapu is also a key part of Madarrpa ceremonies.

As a Madarrpa elder, Djambawa has the right to paint the sacred designs of his clan. These designs are passed down through generations. His father, Wakuthi Marawili, gave him the name Djambawa only when he was sure his son had the wisdom needed for such an important name.

His Art Career

Marawili started painting in the early 1980s. He brought new ideas to Yolngu art, like buwuyak, which means faintness or emergence. Even with new ideas, he often uses traditional materials. He paints with natural ochre, a type of earth pigment, and a paintbrush made from hair tied to a stick.

His artworks often tell the ancestral story of Yathikpa. This story is about Bäru, the crocodile, who changed from a human to an animal in a blaze of flames. He also paints stories about Burrit'tji, the rainbow lightning serpent. Marawili loves to paint the designs and patterns of his land. These patterns, taught by his father, represent the places where these stories come from.

Marawili's paintings are important because they mix new ideas with old traditions. This makes him one of the most important artists from the Yolngu community. His works also serve as historical records, especially in legal battles to protect Yolngu land rights.

His paintings, which show sacred traditional designs, prove the Yolngu people's right to speak for and protect their sea and land. This was very important in the Blue Mud Bay sea rights case. Marawili helped arrange for this sea rights claim to be heard in the Australian Federal Court in 2004.

Djambawa Marawili explains that Yolngu art shows their true spirit and intelligence. He says his bark paintings have deep cultural and political meanings. When his art was shown in the USA, he was happy that Americans recognized the ancient Yolngu culture and its connection to the land. He also appreciated how Yolngu art helps share traditional knowledge with the world.

Marawili's painting style respects traditional bark painting but also uses new methods. This gives his works a flowing feeling. He often uses the diamond pattern, which is traditional to the Yirritja moiety. He arranges these diamonds to create movement and tell a story.

Activism and Land Rights

Marawili cares deeply about the rights of his people and their land. He believes he must speak up because the land and sea cannot speak for themselves. His father told him to use his knowledge of both his culture and the Western world to connect these two worlds. Marawili believes that the government can learn from him, just as he can learn from them.

His art is closely linked to his activism. The patterns he paints are connected to the land and sea. This was shown in the Saltwater: Yirrkala Paintings of Sea Country exhibition. This show featured eighty artworks by Yolngu artists. They created these paintings because of illegal fishing and trespassers in Blue Mud Bay.

The show started after an incident in October 1996. Wäka Munungurr found illegal fishing at a sacred place called Garranali. He reported it to Djambawa Marawili. Marawili decided to paint the sacred clan designs of the area to show his frustration. He led other elders and artists to do the same. Djambawa Marawili led this exhibition to visually assert Yolngu rights to the sea.

The land has everything it needs. But it couldn’t speak. It couldn’t express itself. Tell its identity. And so it grew a tongue. That is the Yolngu. That is me. We are the tongue of the land. Grown by the land so it can sing who it is. We exist so we can paint the land. That’s our job. Paint and sing and dance. So it can feel good to express its true identity. Without us it cannot talk. But it is still there. Only silent. — Djambawa Marawili AM

In 1997, forty-seven Yolngu artists from different clans came together. They shared their cultural wisdom and deep connection to the land and sea. They used detailed patterns called Miny'tji to create a series of paintings known as the 'Saltwater Collection'.

His saltwater bark paintings were part of a campaign to teach people about the Yolngu people and their sacred land. This led to a court case where the Yolngu people sought recognition for their land. Marawili contributed his artwork to this collection and attended the federal court hearing.

The court did not initially rule in the Yolngu people's favor. However, they appealed the decision. In 2008, the Yolngu people gained legal ownership of the intertidal zone, the area between high and low tide marks.

A big problem in the area was bauxite and manganese mines built near Aboriginal land. The Nhulunbuy bauxite mine is very close to Lawnhapuy Homelands. Marawili worried about the lack of jobs, decline in education, and health problems for the Yolngu people. He wants better education for his community so they can get jobs and have a stronger economy. Marawili continues to work hard to help his community thrive.

Journey to America (Americalili Marrtji)

One of Djambawa Marawili's most famous artworks is his 2019 piece, Journey to America. He won first prize for this work at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. This painting is on a huge piece of eucalyptus bark, measuring 270 x 100 cm. Like most of his art, he uses natural ochres for color.

This piece was made for an exhibition at the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection in Virginia, USA. It shows Djambawa's important role in creating the university's exhibition, where the water moves, where it rests. Djambawa Marawili has led efforts to connect Yolngu artists with the art world in the United States.

Marawili explained what Journey to America means to him: “It's really important to represent our clan groups and our tribes. Sharing the knowledge of this country. The art is still alive. The songs are still alive. The language is still alive. The connections are still alive. I reach out to other cities across the sea…I felt that I had to carry this. Even in my soul, even in my mind [I] have to carry this and reach out to the other world. It is really important for me I have to be really confident with my own patterns and designs. I think it is really written in my soul and it is written in my blood.” (Djambawa Marawili)

Marawili says his strong connection to his ancestors inspires him to share their culture with others. In Journey to America, Marawili mixes Aboriginal culture and art with symbols from the European world, like the Statue of Liberty. The Statue of Liberty is painted at the very top of the bark.

The main subject of the painting is Bäru, the ancestral crocodile, which covers most of the bark. On Bäru's back and throughout the painting, Djambawa Marawili shows the chained diamond design. This design is common in the art and culture of the Yirritja moiety. Bäru is known for creating fire and sending it across the water to different clans. Marawili's skill is clear in how he creates a sense of movement in this flat artwork. In the bottom left corner of the painting is the Coat of arms of Australia.

Artist Residency

In October 2016, Djambawa Marawili was a resident artist at the University of Virginia. He was happy to see how popular Aboriginal art was in the United States. Students at UVA Law learned from his experience with the Blue Mud Bay sea rights case. During his time there, he worked with University of Virginia printmaking students to create new art. Two of Marawili's pieces are now permanently kept in the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection.

Djambawa's residency was a big moment, similar to when John Mawurndjul appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 2005. That event helped introduce Aboriginal art to the world. Djambawa's connection with the University of Virginia shows the growing link between Aboriginal Art and the European world.

Music

In 2008, Djambawa Marawili released an album called "Yilpara, The Mulka Manikay Archives". The album has 14 songs and is about one hour and 19 minutes long. The songs are:

• Gapu Mungurru (Rough Waves)
• Dhupuntji (Log)
• Yirriwi (Dugong)
• Baru (Crocodile)
• Minyga (Garfish)
• Barrakbarrak (Dotterel)
• Makani (Queenfish)
• Walurngu (Frigate Bird)
• Djet (Sea Eagle)
• Lipalipa (Paddling)
• Bunburrkthun (Walking to the Shade)
• Gathiritj (Mangrove Bird)
• Nhinamarrtji (Sitting Under the Shade)
• Wangupini (Cloud Rising from the North)

Other Important Roles

Beyond his art, Marawili has held many leadership roles to support and raise awareness for the Indigenous community. Some of these roles include:

• Arnhem Northern and Kimberley Artists (ANKA) Chairperson (1998– )
• Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Chairperson at Yirrkala (1994-2000, 2016-2018), and board member (2001-2016)
• Laynhupuy Homelands Committee Chairperson (1995-1997, 2018)
• Northern Land Council Councillor (1995-1997)
• Nambara Homelands School Board Member
• Australia Council Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Board (2008-2009)
• YBE Enterprises Board Member
• Yipara-Laynhupuy Homelands CDEP supervisor
• Appointed member of the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory Council, serving in both its first (2013–2017) and second (2017– ) terms.

Awards and Recognition

Marawili has won many awards for his important paintings. He won the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award (NATSIAA) in 1996 and again in 2019 for Journey to America. Other honors for his work as an artist and community leader include:

• Australia Council, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Fellowship (2003)
• General Division of the Order of Australia (2010)
• Opened the Tarnanthi Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art in Adelaide (2019)
• Lead curator for Madayin: Eight Decades of Aboriginal Bark Painting from Yirrkala, Australia. This was the first major collection of bark painting to tour outside Australia, starting in 2021.

Art Collections

Marawili's artwork can be found in many important galleries and institutions, such as:

• Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow, Scotland
• Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection, University of Virginia, USA
• President of India Art Collection
• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
• Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
• National Maritime Museum, Sydney
• Northern Territory Supreme Court, Darwin
• Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• Holmes à Court Collection, Margaret River, WA
• Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

Important Exhibitions

Some of the key exhibitions where Marawili's work has been shown include:

• Saltwater: Yirrkala Bark Paintings of Sear Country (1999-2001)
• Buwayak-Invisibility in Annandale Galleries (2003)
• Source of Fire in Annandale Galleries (2005)
• Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Queensland Art Gallery (2006-2007)
• One sun, one moon in Art Gallery of New South Wales (2007)
• Larrakitj (memorial poles) in Art Gallery of Western Australia (2009)
• Australia in Royal Academy of Arts (2013)
• Lorr in Art Gallery of New South Wales (2015)
• Where the Water Moves, Where it Rests at Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection (2015-2016)