Artist

The late Ms. D. (Djerrkngu) Yunupiŋu (also known as Eunice) was a highly respected Yolŋu elder and celebrated Yolŋu artist based in Yirrkala in the Northern Territory whose extraordinary paintings were created using a unique combination of natural earth pigments with reclaimed toner ink from discarded printer cartridges.

Ms D. Yunupiŋu’s deeply personal paintings portray the story of her conception as the spiritual mermaid, a depiction transposed by the artist into a highly distinctive and contemporary aesthetic. Her work stems from a memory she has from a time before she was born, described by the artist as an encounter experienced by her father.

“One day, my dad sees the tail of the mermaid and thinks he has seen a fish, so he walks closer and closer and closer and silently puts the woomera into the spear ready to throw. He throws the spear at the mermaid, but she jumps into the water…(Later, when) he gets home and lies down and falls into a deep sleep…In his dream he sees the mermaid and realises it was no ordinary fish. It was me. I was telling him in the dream "That was me dad, don’t spear me. Bapa … It is I, it was not a fish’'.

When her father woke from his dream his wife confirmed that she was pregnant, and they understood that the mermaid had been the spirit of their unborn daughter, Ms D. Yunupiŋu.

Ms D Yunupingu’s highly distinctive works garnered high acclaim in 2021 and 2022, with the artist announced as a finalist in both the 2021 and 2022 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA) at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin and for the 2021 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney for her work titled 'Me and my sisters', becoming the first artist working on bark to be awarded finalist in the prize’s history. Her work was also featured at the Art Gallery of South Australia’s 2021 Tarnanthi Exhibition in Adelaide, and in Bark Ladies at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) International in Melbourne. A complimentary children’s exhibition, 'The Gecko and the Mermaid' presented by NGV in parallel to Bark Ladies, focused on the art and stories of Ms D Yunupiŋu and her sister, award-winning artist Ms N Yunupiŋu.

In the same year Ms D. Yunupiŋu presented her first-ever solo exhibition 'I am a Mermaid' at Alcaston Gallery in Melbourne.

It was with great sadness that Alcaston Gallery learnt of the passing of Ms D Yunupingu in June 2022, and farewelled an artist of great joy and optimism. Ms D Yunupingu leaves an immense artistic and cultural legacy; both as a gifted and celebrated artist and as a respected leader of her community.

© The Artist, Buku-Larrnggay Mulka and Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne 2023

For an extended CV, please contact Alcaston Gallery at art@alcastongallery.com.au