377810582126867

Published by CompNet Systems on

Yawkyawk and kunred

‘This is wet season yawkyawk with white bush apple, the one that grows beside the river.

This yawkyawk sometimes eats fish and seed, manmim. They have a lot of food under the water. Sometimes she falls in love with a man who is hunting or fishing. Or he falls in love with her. He doesn’t know about yawkyawk. When he becomes lost, yawkyawk comes out from the water and mesmerises a man by singing. The man falls asleep and dreams about yawkyawk. He stands there and listens to the singing and chases that country. That man is going to be lost from his family. He can be lost for one day while he is in love. Some old people say benbengmayahkeng. The yawkyawk confuses the man so he can’t go back to his country.’

Janet Marawarr

 ‘bengmayahke’ confuse. Kuninjku

Categories: Babbarra Women’s Centre

Name: Janet Marawarr

Language: Kune, Kuninjku

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Janet is a senior Kuninjku artist at Babbarra Designs working with lino tiles and screen print designs. Janet is renown for her use of cut out lino tiles which she prints in intuitive repeat patterns on a range of textile surfaces. Janet regards textile design as an opportunity to work with colour and new methods to express her djang (ancestral creation stories).

‘I like lino, print my design and doing different way to print my lino, different colours and different way. I print lino Yawkyawk (spirit woman) and Ngaldjorlhbo (mother of Everything). This was an old lady and she create that language and the world before. I also print also Rolk (maggot), my mother design cause I’m the Djunkay (land manager) for her.’  Janet Marawarr 2020

As well as her artistic work with Bábbarra Women’s Centre, she is an established bark painter with Maningrida Arts & Crafts and she works for the Maningrida Night Patrol, a community safety service.

Related Posts

Babbarra Women’s Centre

377810582184310

Kunkurra (Spiral Wind) ‘My designs, they are all alive living up in my head’- Janet Marawarr Janet Marawarr has depicted kunkurra, the spiralling wind associated with several sites in the Kardbam clan. On one level, Read more…

Babbarra Women’s Centre

377810582184275

Kayawa (baby floor mat) and Lorrkon This design features the Lorrkkon tile by renowned artists and arts worker Raylene Bonson. In a hopscotch pattern, Joy has printed her own Kayawa (baby floor mat) in between.

Babbarra Women’s Centre

377810582184257

Yawkyawk and Wak ‘Yawkyawk swim underneath the rock. They always stay there. When the sun comes out they come out from underneath the river, make themselves warm. They sit and they look around. When they Read more…

© the artist / art centre