Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery presents ‘Inhabiting the Trace,’ an exhibition Exploring Indigenous Print-making 

Laklak 2 (Ŋuliny) Ganambarr, ‘Macassan Boat,’ 2008, etching, printing ink on Hannemulle paper, Berndt Museum Collection [2008/0077]. Courtesy of UWA, 2022.

From 12 February – 23 April 2022, the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery is holding an exhibition showcasing contemporary printed works by Indigenous artists from University of Western Australia Berndt Museum’s collection (UWA, 2022).

In the media release for the exhibition, curator and Palyku woman Jessyca Hutchens (2022) explained the themes explored in the exhibition:

“Inhabiting the Trace looks at the significant print work of many artists, and the expansions to practice, collaborative relationships, and intergenerational knowledge elicited through Indigenous print-making processes and histories.” 

The exhibition features printed works by Indigenous artists Paddy Carlton, Queenie McKenzie, Brett Nannup, Laurel Nannup, Peter Cameron, Lena Nyadbi, Ngarralja Tommy May and Mervyn Street, as well as The Berndt Etching Series (2008) – a series of 27 prints by Indigenous artists from the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, created to honour the infamous 1946-1947 Yirrkala crayon drawings (UWA, 2022).

Curator Jessyca Hutchens in the exhibition ‘Inhabiting the Trace,’ Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. Photo credit: Eduardo Cossio. Courtesy of UWA, 2022.

The 1946-1947 Yirrkala crayon drawings are a unique collection of artworks depicting Yolngu knowledge and law by senior leaders of the Yirrkala community. The crayon drawings were created in collaboration with the anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt who travelled to Yirrkala to undertake research. Due to their concerns of the bark paintings being destroyed when transporting out of Yirrkala, Ronald requested the artists to record their knowledge onto butchers’ paper with coloured crayons. This new art form allowed for easy transportation and an immediacy not replicated in other mediums at the time (QAGOMA, 2022). 

The Berndt Museum holds one of the most significant collections of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and cultural material globally, with more than 12,000 items and over 35,000 photographs. Hutchens (2022) highlighted the cultural significance of the Berndt Museum’s collection in this exhibition in a statement to the National Indigenous Times:

“There’s the Yirrkala print works, an etching series of 27 works, created in response to a collection of drawings done in the 1940s. Some of the etching series was created by descendants of the artists who created those drawings.

It also shows the agency of Indigenous artists… there is a strong interaction between the collection and the community.”

Paddy Carlton, ‘Moolawoorrem,’ 1995, lithograph, printing ink on paper, Berndt Museum Collection [1995/0135]. Courtesy of UWA, 2022.

We highly recommend visiting this beautiful exhibition if you have the chance. It’s free to visit at the Janet Holmes à Court Gallery in the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery in Perth (Tuesdays to Saturdays 12pm to 5pm) from February 12 until April 23, 2022.  For more information, check out the University of Western Australia’s event page here.

If you are an art lover, we also recommend checking out our previous post for information about the ‘Blak Jewellery Finding Past · Linking Present' Exhibition (LINK) showcasing works by First Nations contemporary jewellery designers. It’s free to visit at the Koorie Heritage Trust, Yarra Building, Fed Square in Melbourne up until Sunday, March 27, 2022. For more information, check out Koorie Heritage Trust’s event page here.

We also recommend checking out the ‘One Foot on the Ground, One Foot in the Water’ Exhibition at the Bunjil Place Gallery in Melbourne. This collaborative art exhibition - exploring our relationship with death, mourning and loss across a spectrum of cultures - will show until April 24th, 2022. You can find more information here.