The largest solo exhibition of artist Naminapu Maymuru-White opens today at Zetland gallery, Sullivan+Strumpf.

Titled Milŋiyawuy—The River of Heaven and Earth, the exhibition is a selection of Naminapu’s intricately realised bark paintings and larrakitj (painted hollow poles), displayed across both floors of the gallery. 

One of the acclaimed “Bark Ladies” from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in Northeast Arnhem Land, Naminapu has been creating art for over 50 years. Taught by her father Nänyin Maymuru and uncle Narritjin Maymuru (two big names in Yolŋu art from the late 1950s to 1970s), she was one of the first Yolŋu women to paint miny’tji (sacred creation designs among Yolŋu clans).  

Across an extended career, Naminapu has exhibited widely and won numerous awards, including two Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards: one in 1996 for her lino print triptych Nyapilingu; and the other in 2005 for one of her larrakitj. 

In recent years, her works have been featured in sell-out exhibitions in Darwin and Sydney; been acquired by universities and galleries around the world. You might recognise her work from the recent Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala exhibition at the NGV!

Works in Milŋiyawuy—The River of Heaven and Earth tell ancestral stories from the Maŋgalili clan: namely two Guwak men who drowned at sea and destined themselves as offerings to the night sky, where they and subsequent Maŋgalili souls are seen today in the Milky Way. 

This beautiful exhibition by an incredible living artist is on now!

Milŋiyawuy—The River of Heaven And Earth by Naminapu Maymuru-White
Sullivan+Strumpf
799 Elizabeth St, Zetland NSW
Thursday February 3 – Saturday March 12 2022