Yuwurnyuwurn Marruwarr: Mimi and Kangaroo on Bark

Yuwurnyuwurn Marruwarr 1928-1978 Mimi spirit and kangaroo ochres on bark Western Arnhem Land. Yuwurnyuwurn Marruwarr was born in about 1928 at a remote camp near the Liverpool River. A Kunwinjku speaker, he belonged to the Marrirn clan and Kamarrang subsection, after the death of his mother in the late 1950s, Yuwurnyuwurn went to live at Oenpelli where he worked on the cattle station and painted in his spare time. When the outstation movement gained momentum in the early 1970s the artist settled for a time at Marrkolidjban, the home of his clan, the Marrirn, but eventually he had to return to Oenpelli, when his wife became ill. The artist worked for a while at the Literature centre, drawing illustrations of birds, fish and animals for school readers, but then devoted all of his time to painting on bark in the X-ray style until his relatively early death in 1978. His work was represented in the Kunwinjku Bim exhibition held at the National Gallery of Victoria, 1984. 43 x 34 cm