Marina Murdilnga
Marina Murdilnga
Yawkyawk (Ngalkunburriyaymi)
230 x 50cm : Pandanus (Pandanus Spiralis) and Bush Cane (Flagellaria Indica) with Natural Dyes, 2023
This is a depiction of Ngalkunburriyaymi or Yawkyawk, the fish-women spirit. Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, they exist as spiritual beings living in freshwater streams, particularly those in the stone country. These water spirits are perhaps the most enigmatic, and are usually described and depicted with the tails of fish. Thus the Kuninjku people sometime call them ngalberddjenj which literally means 'the woman who has a tail like a fish'. They have long hair which is associated with trailing blooms of green algae (man-bak in Kuninjku) found in freshwater streams and rock pools. At times they leave their aquatic homes to walk about on dry land, particularly at night.
In the early 2000’s, Kunwinjku artist Marina Murdilnga introduced a new figurative expression to fibre sculpture in Western Arnhem Land. By adapting her traditional pandanus weaving techniques, she created a series of flat, woven, wall-based works. Drawing inspiration from earlier bark paintings by her father, the sculptures were often of animals and Ancestral beings. Marina began with woven sculptures of yawkyawk, butterflies, stingrays, and flying possums. This led to a creative expansion in fibre craft practice, inspiring many weavers to embrace more figurative interpretations. Marina continues to innovate with her weaving, pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional woven sculpture.