In Yolngu culture “rock solid” cultural conventions dictate that artists use the land for their art, which can be only of an artist’s own identity or that of their mother or grandmother. For artists such as Gunybi Ganambarr, who won the overall prize at the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art awards (Natsiaa), that definition is malleable.
Ganambarr’s striking work is unique for its use of shiny modern sheets of metal – some leftover aluminium panels, essentially found objects on his traditional land.
“The reason I find the different materials … roofing insulation, rubber, metal … is all the trees and bark, when we chop them out from the bush they’re all dying,” he says. “So I found this different road.”
The importance of young people carrying on old traditions, and of elders allowing the evolution of art to encompass new mediums, has dominated this year’s national Indigenous art awards. Most went to Yolngu artists from a northeast Arnhem Land art centre.
At the absolute maximum size for eligible entries – three metres by three metres – the dremel-etched panels of Buyku are a traditional depiction of freshwater from Gadarrpa (Blue Mud bay) and Gulutji coming together. The glinting metal catches the light in an unpredictable dance akin to a water surface.
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