ArtGrams: Marking the Infinite

As Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia reaches its final weekend, we’d like to share some great shots that our visitors posted on Instagram. Come see the exhibition (and snap some photos!) before it closes on September 9!

Photo by @jeaninnemariee

@jeaninnemariee

Photo by @maegan.ramirez

@maegan.ramirez

Photo by @pattybarden

@pattybarden

Photo by @quweixun

@quweixun

Photo by @nikfish

@nikfish

Photo by @infocusandie

@infocusandie

@suede.on.the.inside

@suede.on.the.inside

Photo by @seenandspoken

@seenandspoken

Photo by @waynegafford

@waynegafford

Photo by @btransatlantic

@btransatlantic

Photo by @melhess

@melhess

Photo by @saiyyamarts

@saiyyamarts

Photo by @callheraminaa

@callheraminaa

Larrakitj Poles

Larrakitj Poles in Marking the Infinite. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

Larrakitj Poles in Marking the Infinite. Photo: Lee Stalsworth

Larrakitj were once created by the Yolngu (indigenous peoples from the northeastern Arnhem Land region) to house the bones of their dead. For these traditional burial poles, only the most perfectly symmetrical hollow trunk eucalyptus trees were used. Once stripped of bark, the surface would be decorated with detailed paintings intended to guide the deceased to their spiritual home. Larrakitj still play an important role in Yolngu mortuary rites and memorial practices, but no longer function as receptacles for human remains. In the 1980s, artists began making Larrakitj for the art market, departing from the strict conventions of ceremonial design. They became less concerned with symmetry and, in the 2000s, began exploring the surface features of the trunk, utilizing imperfections as integral parts of its expressive form.

Nonggirrnga Marawili’s works (as seen in top image) often reference the four key elements of Madarrpa Law: lightning, fire, water, and rock. Cascading diamonds convey water and fire; jagged lines are reminiscent of lightning; dark shapes indicate rocks; and white dots suggest sea spray or the barnacles adorning rocks. Each of these elements is connected to specific ancestral events in Madarrpa country. While Marawili alludes to the visual conventions of ceremonial painting, she ultimately represents her own interpretations. In doing so, the artist demonstrates the deep connection that Yolngu ancestral forces have to their lands as well as to their identity. The Yolngu word “Yurr’yun” refers to the water marks produced by a powerful wave crushing against a rock, from splashes to droplets to mist.

This work is on view in Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia through September 9, 2018.

Nyapanyapa Yunupingu’s Djorra Drawings

Installation view of Nyapanyapa Yunupingu’s “Djorra” (2014-15)

“I am drawing on paper. These are not special stories. I am drawing my ideas. Stories from my head. I am still working. Drawing lines, work like this one…I am drawing trees on my paper. The picture is about the trees. More branches on that tree. As I am working on my story, I am thinking of the next one.”–Nyapanyapa Yunupingu

This work is on view in Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia through September 9, 2018.