Nongirrna Marawili was an indigenous Australian artist working on the remote coast of Arnhem Land. She is noted for her bark painting using bold imagery. Marawili began her career as a printmaker, but in recent years has further refined her skills in painting to become one of the most unique artists working at Yirrkala today.
Her highly sophisticated works on paper reflect an ingrained, natural understanding of her culture, history and environment. Nongirrna’s striking use of pink pigment (recovered from recycled print toner cartridges) alludes to her strong cultural ties, whilst simultaneously crossing artistic boundaries that only a senior woman of her strength could even contemplate.
Marawili was inspired by the atmospheric effects that are created as country is brought to life through the movement of wind, water or unseen forces. Marawili did not simply document sites in country, she captured the dynamism of a living landscape, radically transformed and re-imagined to realise a very personal artistic vision.