Territory artists dominate across five NATSIAA 2023 categories
Territory artists have dominated across several categories at some of the nation’s most prestigious art awards. See the full list of winners.
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Yolngu woman Dhalmula Burarrwanga has captured the feeling of losing and looking for that one “whatchamacallit” while continuing her family’s tradition of bark painting.
Her playful piece, ‘wanha, dhika, nhawi?’, won the hearts of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards judges who said the “cleverly assembled” bark paintings appealed to viewers’ sense of humour.
Ms Burarrwanga was awarded the Emerging Artist Award for her piece.
She spent a month creating and painting with handmade pigments to produce the black and white stringybark painting.
“It could be ‘dhika, wanha, nhawi?’ or even ‘nhawi, dhika, wanha?’ These are all different ways of saying the same thing,” Ms Burarrwanga said.
“This is what you mutter to yourself when you are looking for that whatchamacallit that was
somewhere.
“This is the Yolngu idiomatic slang you can mutter – or shout when you have lost your key, lighter, toothpaste, calculator, smokes, spear, water bottle, woomera, knife, oysterpick, torch, trowel, anchor, bag, cat, spoon, dog, cup, pen, toothbrush, axe, clapstick, scissors, car, pot, wallet, keycard, phone.”
Ms Burarrwanga said she hoped to take her artistic career further, with plans to depict the starry Yirrkala sky in her next painting.
Kuninjku man Owen Yalandja took out NATSIAA’s bark painting category with ‘Ngalkodjek Yawkyawk’.
The senior Dangkorlo clan member is a tenured artist and singer but said the award-winning piece was his first bark painting.
Mr Yalandja’s careful brushstrokes tell the story of the yawkyawk (mermaid) spirit women called Ngalkodjek living in Maningrida’s billabong.
(My father Crusoe Kuningbal) – when he was alive – told that story to me, to all of us,” he said.
“He told us how they call out loudly, how they call out as they walk along.
“When they walk down from the bush, they follow a set path that belongs to them and they walk along calling out.
“That is their path which they take. It is an old traditional route.”
He said the key to staying focused on a long-term project such as Ngalkodjek Yawkyawk was staying calm.
Ms Burarrwaŋa’s and Mr Yalandja’s paintings are currently on display at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Aboriginal Art and Material Culture Curator Rebekah Raymond said it was incredibly exciting to have Territory artists announced among this year’s exhibitions.
“Artists are doing incredible work all the time, we’re lucky to provide a space for them closer to home,” she said.
“I know that so many of them are national and international stars, so any time we have an opportunity to bring them closer to home, share it with their families, it’s so special.”
Seven winners were announced among 63 finalists.
WINNERS:
Art Award: Keith Wikmunea, ‘Ku’, Theewith & Kalampang: The White Cockatoo, Galah and the wandering Dog’, QLD
General Painting Award: Julie Nangala Robertson, ‘Mina Mina’, NT
Bark Painting Award: Owen Yalandja, ‘Ngalkodjek Yawkyawk’, NT
Work on Paper Award: Brenda L Croft, ‘blood/memory: Brenda & Christopher II (Gurindji/Malngin/Mudburra; Mara/Nandi/Njarrindjerri/Ritharrngu; Anglo-Australian/Chinese/German/Irish/Scottish)’, NT
Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award: Anne Nginyangka Thompson, ‘Anangu History’, NT
Multimedia Award: Jimmy John Thaiday, ‘Just Beneath the Surface’, QLD
Emerging Artist Award: Dhalmula Burarrwaŋa, ‘wanha, dhika, nhawi?’, NT
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