Artist
Ms N Marawili (c. 1939-2023)
Highly respected senior Yolngu artist and elder, Ms N Marawili was regarded as one of the most important contemporary Australian artists, whose bold and highly sophisticated artworks reflect an innate understanding of culture, history, and the natural environment.
Ms N Marawili's practice alluded to her strong cultural ties and blurred artistic boundaries, using natural materials such as earth ochres combined with a striking use of pink ink from recycled print toner cartridges. The integration of recycled ink alongside ochre first emerged in Marawili’s works in 2017, marking an important development in her artistic practice, and one which aligned with the Madarrpa philosophy ‘if you paint the land you should use the land’.
Marawili’s extraordinary career included twice winning the coveted Bark Painting Award at the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards in 2015 and 2019; winning the Roberts Family Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Prize as part of the Wynne Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney in 2019; and, being selected to participate in the prestigious NIRIN, Biennale of Sydney, in 2020, exhibiting a major installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), as well as at Campbelltown Arts Centre.
Most significantly, in 2018 the Art Gallery of New South Wales honoured Ms N Maraili with a major solo exhibition entitled 'From My Heart and Mind by Ms N Marawili', a significant exhibition and accompanying publication that spanned the artist’s career with a focus on the previous five years.
In 2023 Marawili presented what was to be her final solo exhibition at Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne, exhibiting a collection of new work on barks and boards that that epitomised her distinctive and impressive oeuvre.
A gifted and celebrated artist, Ms N Marawili leaves an immense artistic and cultural legacy with work included in some of the most important private and public collections. Exuding unparalleled strength and resilience throughout her career and life, Ms N Marawili’s experimental and dynamic practice was embraced by collectors, curators, and art lovers alike and she is rightfully regarded as one of the most important contemporary Australian artists of our time.
© The Artist, Buku Larrnggay Mulka NT and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne 2024
For an extended CV, please contact Alcaston Gallery at art@alcastongallery.com.au
