Yirrkala Print
Artists of Yirrkala Print Space
24 october–10 november

Ḏarra, Gunybi Ganambarr, 4918-24

Ŋerrk, Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu, 1973-24

Djulpan, Dhalmula #2 Burarrwaŋa, 5300-24

BSG Projects and Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Art Centre are pleased to present Yirrkala Print, an exhibition of works on paper from one of most prolific print studios in the Northern Territory, the Yirrkala Print Space.

For almost thirty years Yirrkala Print Space studio has been run by Yolŋu printmakers, producing works on paper from some of Australia’s most renowned artists.

In our annual showcase, Yirrkala Print, we welcome you to enjoy the fruits from the past year at the Yirrkala Print Space, presenting a powerful collection of stories and unique designs all the way from the shores of the Arafura Sea in North East Arnhem land.

Exhibited alongside the curation of prints from Yirrkala Print Space are a selection of Mokuy and Nhamini baŋ’baŋ’ carvings from the artists of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Art Centre.

Please join us for a drink to celebrate the opening of Yirrkala Print on Friday 25 October (6–8PM).

ABOUT YIRRKALA PRINT SPACE

“When we first started working on lino prints we thought it was very exciting and something new for our community to learn.”

“Every print has to be the design of the artist’s own clan or connecting clans. The design has to be done very carefully so as not to mix them up, and to understand their story. We have to talk about it with other people in that clan, so when the design is printed there is no problem. It’s a similar idea to the traditional designs used in the bark paintings and the wood carving, but in printmaking we get the direction from our elders to design the image of the outside story only. In the workshop a lot of Yolngu come and watch what we do in the print studio so they can understand the process.”

– Marrnyula Mununggurr and Mundul Wunungmurra Mununggurr.

Located in Yirrkala in North East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, the Yirrkala Print Space began in 1995 when a purpose built area was designed to host a printing press and seize the means of production into Yolŋu hands. Since then, the inaugural print studio has produced over 1,000 editions by 150 artists and is now an integral component of the Art Centre and community.

One of the few printing studios based in community–working to serve community and employ community members–it’s philosophy is to provide an environment to educate, engage and strengthen the vision of Yolŋu through artistic skills development and exploration of non-traditional techniques. It acts as a training area for emerging artists and provides employment for Indigenous people.

The studio has produced prints using a variety of different techniques – woodblocks, linocuts, etchings, screenprints, collography and lithography. For many of the artists this was their first exploration into the palette of the western world but the artists could still use the marwat (human hair brush) onto the zinc surface and capture the highly refined style of miny’tji (sacred clan design) particular to the area.

Text courtesy of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Art Centre and Yirrkala Print Space.