kids encyclopedia robot

Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu
Born c.1935
Died 2005 (2006)
Nationality Australian
Occupation Artist
Parents

Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu (c.1935–2005; also rendered Yunupiŋu) was a senior Yolngu artist and matriarch, who lived in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia. She worked at the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, where her work is still held, and is known for her graphic art style, bark paintings and printmaking.

Life and family

Yunupingu was born around 1935, the daughter of Mungurrawuy and sister to the musician Galarrwuy, land rights campaigner Mandawuy Yunupingu, artists Gulumbu Yunupingu and Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, and others. Her mother, Bakili, was an artist and elder of the Galpu clan. Gaymala's moiety was Yirritja and her clans Gumatj and Rrakpala. Her homeland was Biranybirany.

She died in 2005.

Artistic practice

Yunupingu's strength was in graphic arts, but she also did bark paintings with ochre, wove, created wooden carvings, and employed the printmaking techniques of etching and screenprinting.

The Wan'kurra, or golden bandicoot, which features prominently in song-cycles in Gumatj ceremonies, was a common motif in her work, often running through scrubland.

Works, exhibitions and recognition

  • 1995: artist-in-residence at the Faculty of Creative Arts at Wollongong University, and created a series of linocut prints there
  • 1999: commissioned by Nabalco to produce a picture for a Christmas card
  • 1999: commissioned to paint large murals for the Aboriginal Hostel at Nhulunbuy, the Gove Industrial Supplies building, and for the children's ward at Nhulunbuy Hospital
  • 2003: Groundswell: An exhibition of Aboriginal art, a multi-artist exhibition at the Helen Maxwell Gallery
  • December 2021 – April 2022: Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala, an exhibition from the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, held at the National Gallery of Victoria, also featuring the work of Noŋgirrŋa Marawili, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, Barrupu Yunupiŋu, Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Marrnyula Munuŋgurr, Mulkun Wirrpanda, Naminapu Maymuru-White, and others, including bark paintings and larrakitj (burial poles)

Collections

The National Gallery of Victoria holds Bäru story (1990), painted with earth pigments on the bark of stringybark.

Her work is also held in major collections around Australia, including:

kids search engine
Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.