Djalkiri

Djalkiri are footprints, ancestral imprints on the landscape that provide the Yolnu people of eastern Arnhem Land with their spiritual foundations.

This book explores Yolnu art and material culture through the voices of those who have been involved with Yolnu collections over time. With contributions from Yolnu elders and artists, art historian and museum curators, it describes how communities and museums have worked together in the past, how the relationship has changed, and how Yol?u philosophies can guide how we engage with Yolnu art. Some of the collections featured here were created almost 100 years ago and have rarely been on public display. In Djalkiri, members of the Milingimbi/Yurrwi Island, Ramingining and Yirrkala communities offer insight into their historical, contemporary, and deeper time meanings.

Djalkiri is being published in conjunction with a landmark exhibition of Yolnu art and culture at the new Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, which will open in November 2020.

About the Author

Rebecca Conway is curator of ethnography at the University of Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Museum.