SHE HAS LIVED IN north-eastern Arnhem Land all her life, but Djirrirra Wunu murra Yukuwa’s artworks have been exhibited around Australia, and as far away as the United States and China. Growing up in the remote community of Gä gan, the ancestral lands of the Dhalwa u, Djirrirra, 54, first started painting when she was 16.
“I began by helping my father, Ya garriny Wunu murra. He let me help him paint (memorial poles) and bark,” she says. “My father told me everything. He gave me the information about the (sacred clan design). He showed me how to make the colour. He wanted me to learn and join him in working to show our identity.”
