Indigenous contemporary artist Wanapati Yunupiŋu makes new strides for Yolŋu tribe

Wanapati Yunupiŋu, a native of the Northern Territory of Australia, put forth fresh contemporary mediums to indigenous art at the Melbourne Art Fair this past February. The son of a celebrated tribal artist and ceremonial leader of the Gumatj clan, Wanapati Yunupiŋu has a strong understanding of the cultures of the Yolŋu people of northeast Arnhem Land, Australia. The Melbourne Art Fair which was held from the 17th to the 20th of February this year exhibited Yunupiŋu’s catalogue for sale and was met with an extraordinary reception, selling out the entire collection of works. Working with the Yolŋu art form from his home of Biranybirany in Arnhem Land, Yunupiŋu uses his tribe’s iconic ‘fire’ motif to create murals out of engraved aluminium sign boards with a rotary tool. After the success at Melbourne Art Fair, Wanapati Yunupiŋu will soon exhibit his rich collection of indigenously specific body of work at the Tolarno Galleries in Melbourne, as part of his solo exhibition, in February 2023.

Staying true to his traditional roots and culture, Yunupiŋu crisscrosses his fire design across metal sheets, creating complex contrasts between the painted metal and the exposed industrial texture from the engraving. Fire, a totem in the culture of the Gumatj community, was said to be brought down by Bäru the ancestral crocodile which spread through the ceremonial grounds of the tribes, altering the surroundings by doing so. The pattern of the fire holds extreme significance in Yunupiŋu’s work. With each diamond in the art representing the knowledge of the elders and ancestors, the fire represents the people of Biranybirany. The flat diamond etchings come together to create intriguing patterns across the canvas. They hide within them figures that narrate traditional stories. Yunupiŋu’s work still remains true to the motifs of the art from his grandmother’s ancestors, taking inspiration from the elements and animals around the Gulf of Carpentaria; depicting imagery like fishes, marsupials, water and more all etched into the fire. Yunupiŋu uses old metal sign boards as a canvas, created by moulding and painting them first and then working them down stroke by stroke to create his work.

Wanapati Yunupiŋu takes inspiration from fellow Yolŋu artist Gunybi Ganambarr, who made great strides in the international art world years earlier. Under Ganambarr’s mentorship Yunupiŋu has been able to establish his own style and under the correct nurturing has shown great commercial success as well. Yunupiŋu’s work is deeply rooted, travelling back centuries while mixing with the current mediums. Like Yunupiŋu himself, his work is large but presented with a touch of sensitivity and gentleness, qualities Yunupiŋu is known for through the communities in northeast Arnhem Land.