Goyurr Manda Dja'nkawu is an exhibition about ancestral journeys. It tells the epics story of the ancestral beings Dhalkurrngawuy and Barradawuy - known as the Dja'nkawu Sisters. During creation time, the sisters travelled from Yalangbara (on the mainland near Groote Island) and travelled north, south, east and west throughout the lands of the Dhuwa clans. Everywhere that the sisters stopped, the sisters changed their names and the names of the clans, places and ceremonies. As they travelled the country, the Dja'nkawu sisters named places, plants and animals and created waterholes, springs and mangroves by piercing the ground with their dhorma (digging sticks) and ganinyidi (walking sticks).

The sisters gave the Dhuwa the Ngarra ceremony and its associated ceremonial designs. To the Garrawurra/Liyagawumirr Clan, the sisters gave the colours Miku (red), Watharr (white) and Buthalak (yellow) to paint with. These colours are combined to form the bold sacred stripes of the Djirrididi design used in the Ngarra ceremony. For many years, the only artists with authority to paint the Djirrididi were the brothers Tony Dhanyala (1935-2004) and Mickey Durrng (1940-2006). Both artists exhibited to international acclaim. The bold simplicity of their designs were hailed by critics and curators and their works acquired by major collections across the world. Goyurr Manda Dja'nkawu brings together some of the very last paintings by these two major artists.

Although the Ngarra ceremony is often associated with death - the preparing of spirits for their return to whence they came - it is also a story of creation and regeneration. Before his death, Mickey Durrng gathered his family to pass on his sacred knowledge. As artist and Garrawurra/Liyagawumirr Elder Ruth Nalmakarra explains:

Before, he [Mickey] was the only one with the authority to paint these artworks. But before he passed, he talked to his brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and cousins and made them responsible for the stories. If we stop painting these stories, they will never happen again. We are continuing painting to pass it on to our youngest children.

For the first time since the death of Mickey Durrng, the Ngarra ceremony could be performed and the artists of Milingimbi could paint the sacred designs of the Djirrididi. According to Milingimbi Art Centre's art co-ordinator Chris Durkin, "These artists are passionate about their traditional colours, designs and ceremonies. They adhere strictly to these traditions in their paintings." In bold blocks of red, white and yellow ochre, the sacred designs of the Garrawurra/Liyagawumirr Clan once more proclaim their joyous songs of creation and life. As the great Mickey Durrng once declared, "These designs are the power of the land. The sun, the water, creation, everything."

The works of the Garrawurra/Liyagawumirr Clan will be accompanied by a selection of paintings on bark, canvas and paper depicting the Morning Star ceremony. Recalling the travels of the Dja'nkawu Sisters, the Morning Star is a 'ritual of diplomacy' that connects most of the clans of the Dhuwa Moiety of North Eastern Arnhem Land. As part of the ceremony, the clans produce the exqusite Banumbirr or Morning Star poles. The exhibition will feature a selection of Banumbirr from the artists of Elcho Island.

The Mossenson Galleries Collingwood, in conjunction with Milingimbi Art Centre, Elcho Island Arts and Craft, and Bula'bula Aboriginal Arts (Ramingining) is pleased to present Goyurr Manda Dja'nkawu and the Morning Star and exhibition of paintings and objects from North Eastern Arnhem Land. The exhibition features works by Mickey Durrng, Tony Dhanyala, Ken Minyipirrwuy, Lena Walunydjulalil, Ruth Nalmakarra, Margaret Mawarra, Helen Ganalmirrawuy, Raymond Bulumbula, Joe Dhamanydji, Lesley Bunbatjiwuy, Billy Black, David Burmila, Margaret Mantay, Gali Yalkariwuy Gurruwiwi, Colin Yirilil Dhamarnandji, Richard Dhaymutha Gurruwiwi, Paul Guruwiwi, and Richard Gandhuwuy. The exhibition will be opened at 6pm on Wednesday 31 January at 41 Derby Street Collingwood by Susan McCulloch, Art Critic and Co-Author of McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. The artists Ruth Namalkarra and Joe Dhamanydji will be present for the opening. For more information, please contact The Mossenson Galleries on 0412422378 or mossensonsvic@iinet.net.au.