Rawu

Date2005-2006

Object number00056352

NameScreenprint

MediumPaper, ink

DimensionsOverall: 560 × 760 mm
Image: 420 × 594 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Michael Kershaw

Terms

DescriptionThis print entitled Rawu is by Banduk Marika AO (1954-2021), who was the youngest daughter of Mawalan Marika, a member of the Rirrapjingu clan of the Yolngu people. She was among a small group of women to be encouraged by their male relatives to paint ancestral creation stories. In 1980, Marika moved to Sydney and took up print making, drawing on these stories. Rawu depicts the changes in the currents within the waves in the strait between Bremer Island and the mainland. This stretch of water is sacred to her clan and is the focus of funeral ceremonies for members of the Rirrapjingu and Djambarrpuyngu clans.SignificanceRawu by Banduk Marika AO is an important example of a print by this noted Aboriginal artist and environmental activist from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. One of the first women in her clan to be encouraged to paint creation stories, Marika took up printmaking in 1980 when she came to Sydney and her work is held by Australian and New Zealand museums and is in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

The print's provenance to the Michael Kershaw collection further adds to its significance as, in his position as managing director of the Australian Art Network, he has been responsible for the development and promotion of Indigenous art for over 25 years. Through the publication and distribution of fine art prints by First Nations artists, Kershaw has contributed to broader recognition of their work in Australia and internationally.