Exhibition
Wurrandan Marawili – Giliŋur Djulul’yun – Hidden in the ripples
Where
Outstation Gallery8 Parap Place
Parap, 0820
Darwin, Northern Territory

Art Centres
This exhibition is brought to you by Outstation, in collaboration with the following art centres:
Artists
- Wurrandan Marawili
“Ŋätiliŋu miny’tji dhunupami. The old style paintings were clear. Yirritja and Dhuwa. They went ‘one way’. But these things that I do are ŋarraku style- my style. Djuḻuḻ’yun – a new style with things that are hidden. I am doing it in another way- different from other Yolŋu. Some things are hiding some others are showing. That way Balanda can see that style and push me for that work and encourage me to keep going with that style. Only Yolŋu can see the power in the country. What is it’s identity, it’s dance, it’s song, it’s parliament. “
Wurrandan Marawili
May 2024
A ground breaking show in the art history of Yolŋu called Buwayak-Invisibility was held at Annandale Galleries in 2003. In this exhibition three artists ‘broke the mould’ of Yolŋu artistic convention. The strongly defined figurative imagery that had defined post-contact art was allowed to recede back into the waters of the design so that it became ‘invisible’.
In 2021 another watershed exhibition was held at the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art under the auspices of Salon Art Projects. Murrŋiny- a story of metal from the East presented eight Yolŋu artists belonging to the Found movement using repurposed industrial materials. Wurrandan was part of this second exhibition.
Giliŋur Djuluḻ’yun- Hidden in the Ripples, his first solo show, marries these two great exhibitions together in a way that exponentially builds on these important moments.
It would seem counterintuitive that the new media of etched metal would allow sufficient subtlety to mirror the cryptic effect achieved in Buwayak. But a close study of these works will show the painstaking effort Wurrandan has applied to the task of hiding elements within the ripples of design.
There are two satisfying metaphors triggered by this approach.
In reality, if you live with, and from, the sea as Wurrandan does you will know that the food is always hidden. Only skilled hunters can see what is obscured within the water and spear it.
And secondly this is also true with Yolŋu Law. The powers, essences and deep identity of the land are only apparent to those with knowledge.
Finding the sweetness of the rich land or the deep Law depends on knowledge and effort. Wurrandan has hidden his treasure in plain sight.
Wurrandan is a member of the Maḏarrpa Clan group and is a founding member and lead singer for the Garraŋali band from Yilpara.
He is the son of Bakulaŋay Marawili whose unique works formed a significant part of the Saltwater Collection at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
He came to the attention of the Art Centre in 2017 and his individual style of intensely fine marwat (fine hair brush crosshatching), inventive palette and innovative composition culminated in a work which was shared on Instagram and seen by staff of a major institution who ended up acquiring it. This was the first time Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre had placed a work with a major institution through social media!
A finalist in NATSIAA 2019, his work was selected to be part of a major exhibition touring the USA in 2021. In 2021 he was one of the featured artists in Murrŋiny mentioned above. He continued to develop his art style in the medium of metal and undertook welding training through Buku which allowed him to create in three dimensions. A three-metre tall three dimensional work which was a finalist in the 2023 NATSIAA was subsequently acquired by a major institution.
A personal tragedy saw the death of his wife and the mother of his two children in 2022 but he was able to continue to make art through this period as a solace.
In 2024 he travelled to the USA to open the Maḏayin exhibition in Charlottesville, Virginia.
– Will Stubbs