Djalkiri: we are standing on their names
Late last year Professor Howard Morphy (Director, ANU Research School of Humanities & the Arts) was involved in the Djalkiri Project, a project that brought together a group of artists, scientists and print-makers from around Australia in a cross-cultural, collaborative printmaking workshop at Yilpara, Blue Mud Bay, Arnhem Land, hosted by the renowned Yolngu artist Djambawa Marawili.
The idea for the project was developed by Angus and Rose Cameron of Nomad Arts who made it possible. The visiting artists included Jorg Schmeisser (former Head of Printmaking at ANU School of Art) and his former student Basil Hall was the master printmaker for the project.
The project was designed to create the opportunity for the artists to share knowledge and observations of the natural environment from a range of cultural viewpoints, including the holistic perspective of Yolgnu people.
Jörg Schmeisser, Mangrove Tree, etching, 2010
Etching has the advantage, in a collaborative project, of requiring that the dialogue with the artists continues long after the first encounter. It has the second advantage that many can share in its results. The relationship with the printmaker is something the artists all share in common connecting to a history of image making that cuts across time and place. I have been a privileged observer able to experience the magic of engagement and knowledge exchange out of which appeared miraculous and individual works.
Professor Howard Morphy
The participants of the project included:
Yolgnu artists: Djambawa and Marrirra Marawili, Marrnyula Mununggurr and Mulkun and Liyawaday Wirrpanda
Visiting artists: Fiona Hall, John Wolseley, Judy Watson and Jorg Schmeisser (former Head of the Printing workshop in the ANU School of Art)
Workshop facilitators: printmaker of the project: Basil Hall, ethno-biologist Glenn Wightman, anthropologist Professor Howard Morphy and photographer Peter Eve
Project Developers: Angus and Rose Cameron from Nomad Arts
The Research School of Humanities and the Arts secured external funding to support the project in collaboration with Angus and Rose Cameron. The project was developed in consultation with the ANU Institute for Professional Practice in Heritage and the Arts (IPPHA).
The artworks are currently on show at 24HRArt: Northern Territory Centre for Contemporary Art.
Further information: