Yawkyawk

Maker Lena Yarinkura (1961)

Date1999

Object number00031794

NameSculpture

MediumGrass (Pandanus spiralis), ochre, feathers (Varied Lorikeet and Pacific White Faced Heron), PVC fixative.

DimensionsOverall: 1930 x 140 x 100 mm, 6300 g

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionLena Yarinkura is a Rembarrnga woman based outside the Central Arnhem Land community of Maningrida. She depicts Yawkyawks, or mermaids, that live in her country near Bolkjam. A key artist in the development of fibre sculpture, Yarinkura was the first artist to use fibre to depict mythological figures. During the late 1990s, her style was a departure from conventions, but it now has many followers. This Yawkyawk is made from pandanus grass painted in brown, black and white ochre, and is decorated with feathers from the Varied Lorikeet and the Pacific White Faced Falcon.HistoryIn 1989, Lena started making sculptures using string, paperbark and ochre pigments. Small at first, by 1994 her fibre art had become much larger. During the 1990s, these sculptures were unique in Arnhem Land, and Lena was awarded the National Aboriginal Art Award for her work in 1996. Her sculptures are usually of well-known mythologies told by the elders of western Central Arnhem Land where she lives. The figures are secular, though they are similar to the small spirit dolls customarily held by women during Mularra ceremonies. Yawkyawks are ancestor spirits. During the time of creation, they travelled from the saltwater at Gupanga to Gochan on the Cada River. There, because of many adventures, they changed into mermaids, or Ngalkunburriyaymi. According to Aboriginal Dreamings, Yawkyawks are still living in lagoons on sacred sites, many with Ngalyod, the Rainbow Serpent. Yawk Yawks and weaving associated with ancestral women are powerful symbols of fertility.SignificanceThis woven grass sculpture represents the important ancestral story of the Yawkyawk, and signals the growing importance of weaving in remote Indigenous communities.