Yirrawurr is a woman of the Gupapuyŋu clan of the Yirritja moiety. Her country is Djiliwirri. She is the daughter of internationally celebrated painter and weaver Helen Ganalmirriwuy Garrawurra. Her relationship as child of a Garrawurra woman makes her djuŋgaya for the Garrawurra clan. This means she has certain rights and responsibilities for the clan. Along with all the other children and grandchildren of the Garrawurra, Yirrawurr is responsible for knowing everything about the law and ceremony of the Garrawurra and must carry out certain work. At ceremonies, particularly Ŋärra (Cleansing Ceremony), the Garrawurra leaders delegate work to their waku and gutharra (children and grandchildren in the female line). The waku and gutharra ensure the ceremony is practiced correctly and also support it logistically, making sure that the right people are there, and painting the body paint designs onto participants. They also carry out other work to support the ceremony like cooking, cleaning and driving. They wear the Garrawurra body paint design, perform in the ceremony, and teach the ceremony to specific people.
As part of teaching her daughter to carry out this role, Ganalmirriwuy instructed Yirrawurr to make these works. In this way, Yirrawurr will carry on the law and ceremony for future generations.
Ganalmirriwuy and her older sister, artist Margaret Rarru, speak of two strands of their art practice. One is the work they make for ceremony, and the other is the work they make ‘for the art centre’, for exhibition and commercial purposes. This latter strand is valued by them as well in that it brings them both income and recognition from the outside world. Through this project and others like it, they are working to pass on this livelihood to their children and grandchildren.
DOB
13/05/1974
Language
Dhuwala (Gupapuyŋu)
Clan
Gupapuyŋu
