Bark

Painting as a transmissible practice in Arnhem Land, moving from rock to bark to board. The smallest facet in the archive on the photographic side, because almost no bark painting exists under a free licence anywhere: Commons holds roughly twenty-five files in total. What is here leans on the rock art at Ubirr and Burrungkuy, and the film side carries the rest.

Part of Australia

59 moments in this segment.

1. 1963 - The Four Great Yirritja Lawgivers. A bark painting titled The Four Great Yirritja Lawgivers of Eastern Arnhem Land, made around 1963 and photographed on display in Taipei. Yirritja is one of the two moieties into which Yolŋu people and everything in their world are divided, the other being Dhuwa. Paintings like this carry clan designs that establish rights in Country, which is why they could later be used as legal instruments.
2. 1965 - 101 - 113346 - Yirawala 'Maralaitj, mother of the tribes' c.1965. 1965. Filed as a bark painting record, from footage of 1965 held by National Gallery of Australia.
3. 1965 - 32623- 'Milingimbi Easter panel' c.1965. 1965. Filed as a bark painting record, from footage of 1965 held by National Gallery of Australia.
4. 1982 - 102 - 107079 - Peter Marralwanga 'Ngal-Kunburriyaymi' 1982. 1982 held by National Gallery of Australia.
5. 1984 - 104 - 92142 - John Mawurndjul AM 'Rainbow Serpent (Ngalyod) with female mimi spirit' 1984. 1984. Filed as a bark painting record, from footage of 1984 held by National Gallery of Australia.
6. 1987 - 98 - 77568 - Ramingining Artists 'The Aboriginal Memorial' 1987-88. 1987. Filed as a bark painting record, from footage of 1987 held by National Gallery of Australia.
7. 1988 - Prime Minister Bob Hawke promised a treaty in 1988. Why did it fail? | ABC News. Prime Minister Bob Hawke promised a treaty in 1988, Why did it fail, published by ABC News (Australia) and concerning Northern Territory. The Yirrkala bark petitions of 1963 were the first documentary recognition of Aboriginal people in Australian law. The footage depicts events of 1988. Filed as a bark painting record, from footage of 1988 held by ABC News (Australia).
8. 2004 - 97 - 139089 - Gulumbu Yunupingu 'Garak I (The Universe)' 2004. 2004 held by National Gallery of Australia.
9. 2004 - 103 - 142258 - John Mawurndjul AM 'Lorrkon' 2004. 2004 held by National Gallery of Australia.
10. 2009-09-22 - Highlights from the Ramingining Bakbididi Festival 2008. 2009.
11. 2010-12-16 - 95 - 63390 - Unknown artist 'Hunter and emu' pre 1914. 1914 held by National Gallery of Australia.
12. 2012-04-27 - Register now for NAWI - Australia's first ever conference on Indigenous watercraft. 2012.
13. 2012 - Nhumuy, East Arnhem Land. Coastal Country at Nhumuy in East Arnhem Land. The photograph was contributed to Wikimedia Commons with the permission of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, the Yolŋu ranger organisation that manages the Indigenous Protected Area around Nhulunbuy.
14. 2012 - Guwatjurumurru. Country in East Arnhem Land recorded under its Yolŋu name, photographed with the permission of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation. Dhimurru issues permits for access to these places, which is how visiting is regulated on Yolŋu terms rather than by a park authority.
15. 2012 - Gaparu. A coastal place in East Arnhem Land, contributed with the permission of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation. The names attached to these places are Yolŋu names, and they carry the clan connections that bark paintings also record.
16. 2012 - Galaru. Yolŋu Country in East Arnhem Land, photographed under permission from the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation. This is the region where artists at Yirrkala developed the painted bark that reached national politics in the 1960s.
17. 2012 - Wathawuy. A named place on Yolŋu Country in East Arnhem Land, contributed with the permission of the Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation. Dhimurru was established by Yolŋu landowners in 1992 to manage land and sea Country around the Gove Peninsula.
18. 2012-09-09 - Yolngu Nation. 2012.
19. 2012-10-02 - Yirrkala paintings of the Saltwater Collection. 2012.
20. 2013-03-21 - Milky Way Bark Painting. 2013.
21. 2013-04-07 - Aboriginal art scholar Brenda Croft on Peter Marralwanga's The Giant Water Spirit. 2013.
22. 2013-05-26 - Buku-Larrnggay Mulka keeps culture strong in Yirrkala. 2013.
23. 2013 - Rock art at Ubirr. Painted figures on the sandstone at Ubirr in the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park. The galleries here were repainted over long periods, and some panels include x-ray style fish and animals that show internal structure. Bininj and Mungguy people are the traditional owners of this Country.
24. 2013 - Arnhem Land country. A section of the landscape of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Arnhem Land has been Aboriginal freehold reserve since 1931 and access requires a permit from the Northern Land Council. The bark used for painting is stripped from stringybark eucalypts during the wet season when the sap is running and the bark will lift.
25. 2013-10-24 - Fighting Carbon with Fire in Arnhem Land. 2013.
26. 2013-11-28 - Old Masters bark paintings conservation. 2013.
27. 2013-11-28 - Old Masters: reflections on the work of Tom Djäwa by his son, Joe Gumbula. 2013.
28. 2013-12-08 - Yirrkala drawings - conservation of the works on paper. 2013, running 5 minutes.
29. 2013-12-08 - Yirrkala drawings - introduction from the curator Cara Pinchbeck. 2013, running 4 minutes.
30. 2013-12-09 - Yirrkala drawings - Marrnyula Mununggurr. 2013, running 3 minutes.
31. 2013-12-10 - Yirrkala drawings - Maccassan influences. 2013, running 6 minutes.
32. 2013-12-10 - Yirrkala drawings - Nyapanyapa Yunipingu. 2013, running 3 minutes.
33. 2013-12-10 - Yirrkala drawings - Wanyubi Marika. 2013, running 4 minutes.
34. 2013-12-10 - Yirrkala drawings - Yirrkala now. 2013, running 6 minutes.
35. 2014-07-03 - Yolngu Bark Exhibition wows Canberra. 2014.
36. 2014-09-19 - YOLNGU LEADERS : PM SHOULD VISIT REMOTE HOMELANDS NEXT TIME. 2014.
37. 2015 - Rock country near Gunbalanya. Sandstone formations near Gunbalanya in western Arnhem Land, a community also recorded as Oenpelli. Gunbalanya's Injalak Arts centre is one of the places where painting on bark and on paper continues as a working practice.
38. 2016-12-01 - Art from Milingimbi: taking memories back. 2016.
39. 2017-03-02 - Yolngu Youth take on the World. 2017.
40. 2018-09-11 - John Mawurndjul in conversation. 2018.
41. 2018-11-04 - Aboriginal bark art, dancing Korean grandmothers, and zombie death metal | The Mix. Aboriginal bark art, dancing Korean grandmothers, and zombie death metal, published by ABC News (Australia) and concerning Northern Territory. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2018.
42. 2019 - Anbangbang rock shelter panel. A painted panel at the Anbangbang rock shelter below Burrungkuy in Kakadu. The shelter was occupied as a living site and its walls carry figures added in the twentieth century as well as much older work.
43. 2020-04-10 - Quest Under Capricorn - The Artists of Arnhem Land (Episode 4). ), published by Nicholas Marshall and concerning Northern Territory. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by Nicholas Marshall in 2020.
44. 2020-05-02 - Sex, Spirits and Sorcery in Bark Painting. 2020.
45. 2020-05-14 - How do Conservators preserve bark paintings at MAGNT?. 2020.
46. 2020-11-05 - Harvesting Bark: Kamarrang Paul Nabulumo and Kamarrang Ken Na-Djungkidj. & Culture and concerning Northern Territory. The art centres of central Arnhem Land are community owned and artist governed. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by Maningrida Arts & Culture in 2020.
47. 2021-02-06 - John Mawurndjul: I am the Old and the New. 2021.
48. 2021-04-06 - Tarnanthi 2020 - Maningrida. 2021.
49. 2021 - Rock art at Burrungkuy. Painted panels at Burrungkuy in Kakadu National Park, a site also recorded under the name Nourlangie. The shelter was used over thousands of years and the visible paintings represent only the most recent layers, since earlier work was covered as artists painted over it.
50. 2021-10-20 - A prolific Indigenous artist from north-east Arnhem Land has died | ABC News. A prolific Indigenous artist from north-east Arnhem Land has died, published by ABC News (Australia) and concerning Northern Territory. This record is filed under Yolŋu Country. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2021.
51. 2022-05-12 - Mr Gurruwiwi, globally-renowned master of the yidaki, dies in Arnhem Land | ABC News. Mr Gurruwiwi, globally-renowned master of the yidaki, dies in Arnhem Land, published by ABC News (Australia) and concerning Northern Territory. The instrument is northern rather than pan-Australian, and Kakadu rock art dating suggests use for less than 1,000 years, with a documented maximum of about 1,500. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2022.
52. 2022-06-05 - Joining the dots of artworks from Arnhem Land’s past l ABC News. (Australia) and concerning Northern Territory. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2022.
53. 2022-08-21 - Judith Durham, Russell Hitchcock ft. Mandawuy Yunupingu – I Am Australian (Music Video). ), published by Aaron Evans' Music Archive. Yothu Yindi released Treaty in 1991, following the Barunga statement of 1988. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by Aaron Evans' Music Archive in 2022.
54. 2022-11-06 - Tracking Yolŋu Art: 1930s to Now | La Trobe Art History Alumni Chapter. Tracking Yolŋu Art: 1930s to Now, published by La Trobe University and concerning Victoria. The material concerns Yolŋu Country. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by La Trobe University in 2022.
55. 2023-04-02 - The incredible life of Yunupingu | NITV. The incredible life of Yunupingu, published by NITV. SBS television launched in October 1980, and NITV began free-to-air broadcasts under SBS in 2012. The people named here are Yolŋu. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by NITV in 2023.
56. 2023-08-04 - Garma Festival 2023 - Remembering and Honouring Yunupingu. 2023.
57. 2023-08-08 - Nami Maymuru-White: Maḏayin Artist Profile. 2023.
58. 2026-04-29 - Luke Taylor on Peter Marralwanga, Painter of the Djang of Western Arnhem Land. 2026.
59. 2026-08-13 - Djalu Gurruwiwi - Diltjimurru - Yolngu manikay - Yidaki ga bilma. 1,000 years, with a documented maximum of about 1,500. Custodianship here is Yolŋu. Filed as a bark painting record, posted by Smoldering Stomp Yidaki in 2026.