Yolngu artist Dr B Marika has dedicated her career to the development, recognition and preservation of Aboriginal arts and culture.
Since the death of her father and brother, both established and renowned artists, Marika and her sisters have maintained the artistic and cultural traditions of the Rirratjingu clan. They were among the first Yolngu women urged to paint by their male kin to carry on this important work. From this experience Marika emerged, not only as a successful artist, but also a respected activist, educator and community leader.
Favouring relief printmaking over bark painting, Marika translates her ancestral stories and knowledge through intricately carved lines and figures. In 1986 she was Artist-in-Residence at Flinders University, where she produced a number of linocuts that relate to the Rirratjingu ancestral site known as Yalangbara in North East Arnhem Land. This exhibition, titled Dr B Marika: Yalangbara, brings together these and other works from Flinders University Museum of Art's holdings that showcase the genesis and evolution of her practice.
