Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu, My Wedding, 2021. Natural earth pigments and recycled print toner on bark, 88 x 72cm. Courtesy: the artist and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne.

Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu is a senior Yolŋu elder and emerging artist based in Yirrkala in the Northern Territory and she is a member of the creative Yunupiŋu family of artists. She is the leader of a group of women healers who provide bush medicine and healing to both Yolŋu and non-Indigenous people.

In her paintings on bark and timber board, Yunupiŋu portrays the story of her conception as the spiritual mermaid, using a unique combination of natural earth pigments and reclaimed toner ink (ground polyester) from discarded printer cartridges. This deeply personal depiction of the artist’s spiritual conception has been transposed by Yunupiŋu into a highly distinctive and contemporary artistic aesthetic.

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