For the Yolngu people of north-eastern Arnhem Land, the landscape is bound together by a complex cosmology that extends and connects them to the timeless Dreaming. It is a cosmology that links them to the dawn of time, to the arrival of the Djang’kawu Sisters and other ancestral beings who brought life, abundance and fertility to the land. These songs and stories connect the Yolngu to their country and help explain and dictate every aspect of life and social engagement.

In 1946, the anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt arrived at Yirrkala, where they were immediately struck by the complexity, beauty and power of these ancient knowledge systems. With a deep respect and sensitivity, they set about recording the wisdom of the Yolngu elders.

This sensitivity and respect was not lost upon the Yolngu, who opened their hearts to the anthropologists, pouring out knowledge in a cascade of over 100 finely wrought bark paintings. As these precious works poured in, Ronald Berndt became concerned about their fragility, and whether they would survive the arduous journey back to Perth. Drawing on the advice of his contemporary Charles Mountford, Berndt called upon his father to send butcher paper and crayons for the Yolngu to draw with.

For the old men of Yirrkala, this was an entirely new medium. None of the men had ever seen crayons or worked with paper. And yet, inspired with the mission to document their culture in all its complexity and grandeur, the men took to the medium producing over 300 works of stunning vibrancy and depth. Using this simple medium, they meticulously recorded their ancient worldview, each work bristling with the mystical pathos of an ancient culture standing defiantly at the edge of an encroaching modernity.

For over sixty years these magnificent works sat in the Berndt collection, rarely exhibited, and known only to a handful of dedicated anthropologists. To Berndt, these works existed as an extension of his field notebooks, and he annotated them with key explanatory notations. To the Yolngu, however, they were a defining record of the knowledge of their elders.

In January 2008, Buku-Larrnggay staff members Araluen Maymuru and Dindirrk Mununggurr made the reverse journey to Ronald and Catherine Berndt, and travelled from Yirrkala to Perth, where with the co-operation of John Stanton of the Berndt Museum they were able to get copies of 120 of these historic works. After sixty years, these beautiful records of Yolngu life would begin their journey home.

When they were created in 1947, the crayon drawings in the Berndt collection were intended to convey sacred knowledge. In Western culture, the reproductions obtained by Buku-Larrnggay might be seen as worthless or inferior to the ‘originals’. In Yolngu culture, however, this distinction is not important. It is the intellectual property in the designs that it paramount, rather than the actual piece of paper upon which they were originally rendered. The elders of 1947 were sharing their knowledge as part of their ongoing task of renewing and enlivening the Law. Their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren inherit that Law and the task of celebrating it.

The return of these works to Yirrkala was an inspiration to the artists and elders of Yirrkala. In 2008, in collaboration with Basil Hall Editions, the contemporary Yolngu elders set to work creating a new series of etchings inspired by the crayon drawings. The master printers at Basil Hall Editions developed a new technique of soft-ground etching which allowed the elders to depict their stories in pencil upon an etching plate. The effect of the finished print emulated the 1946 crayon drawings, honouring their legacy as cultural artistic forebears.

This new medium – as strange to the artists of today as crayons were to the artists of 1947 – produced works of a joyous intensity that capture the spirit of innovation and pride of the crayon drawings. Like the elders of 1947, this new medium continues the Yolgnu traditions of celebrating and renewing the Law. Elders who contributed to the project include Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Djalu Gurruwiwi, Djambawa Marawili.

Mossenson Galleries, in conjunction with Buku-Larrnggay Mulka are pleased to present this historic exhibition of prints from the Yolngu artists of Yirrkala. The exhibition will be opened at 6pm on Tuesday, 17 February 2009 by Dr John E. Stanton, Director, Berdnt Museum of Anthropology, University of Western Australia. The artists will be present for the opening.

Mossenson Galleries acknowledges the assistance of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka in preparing this release.