A group of eight Yolŋu artists from Yirrkala have come to rescue, recycle and rework these battered warriors in new ways which have never been seen before. Murrŋiny is the Yolŋu word for steel. It is also the name by which this nation was known by its neighbours and the first Europeans who encountered them. This name references the shovel nosed spears made here since pre-Cook times. Old signs are new again.

Published to mark the exhibition, Murrŋiny: a story of metal from the East, Salon Art Projects have collaborated with Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre and NCCA to produce an accompanying catalogue that takes you on a beautiful photographic journey of the formation of this movement.

Featuring artists’ stories, biographies and images connecting their work to country.

Stunning artwork photography and close-up detail of the artists’ mastery and workmanship in transferring their designs to metal. Landscape photography that connects artists to place and to story.

This book also features a small selection of rare archival photographs by anthropologist Donald Thomson, who lived and worked in north east Arnhem Land during the 1930s and the early years of WWII. These photographs have been reproduced with permission from the Thomson family and Museums Victoria.

The exhibition was a partnership between Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Salon Art Projects and the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, 7 August – 25 September 2021.

Paperback
144 pages
29 x 24cm