Peter Marralwanga, Australian (1916 - 1987)

Peter Marralwanga

Ngarrbek (Echidna)

Natural earth pigments on bark

106cm x 50cm (irregular) 

Provenance: Mary Macha, Perth.
Acquired by the current vendor from the above circa 1980's, where it has remained ever since

Legendary Perth-based art dealer Mary Macha was engaged with Indigenous art for almost fifty years. She played a critical role in the development of Aboriginal art in Western Australia, firstly in the government sector and subsequently as a private dealer. Her clients included Alistair McAlpine (Lord McAlpine) and Robert Holmes a Court. She was the key player in the development of what became known as the East Kimberley School of art and formed a close relationship with many key artists, especially Paddy Jamanji and Rover Thomas.

Peter Marralwanga (1916–1987), also known as Djakku (meaning left-handed), was one of our greatest bark painters. He was a member of the Kardbam clan of the Bininj people, and spoke the Kuninjku language. In addition to being a ceremonial leader, Marralwanga also helped found the Marrkolidjban outstation near Maningrida in 1972, with the help of artists Yirawala, Mick Mandayngu and Curly Barrkadubu. For most of his life, Marralwanga lived at the remote outstation, but briefly lived at the government settlement at Maningrida.
Born in 1916 in West Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, Marralwanga derived influence from Yirawala, a fellow artist and elder from his community.He taught younger artists of his region including his son, Ivan Namirrki, and his nephew, John Mawurndjul. Not only did Marralwanga possess an "intimate first-hand knowledge of the religious geography" of his country (which he passed on to his sons) but he also aided in the technical aspects of painting, sometimes even re-tracing the work of his sons to correct or improve the figuration.
Marralwanga began to paint during his mid 50’s, starting around 1970. Under the guidance of Yirawala, Marralwanga began to incorporate ceremonial items in his works. His later style was further influenced by Yirawala.
In Kuninjku art, much artistic content is sacred, and artists have strict guidelines on what they can depict in their works. Artists who have special roles within a community may receive exclusive rights to paint certain images. Due to his age, he gained permission to incorporate ceremonial elements and knowledge into his work. Through his designs, Marralwanga represented the power of the original ancestral spirits, the Djang. In fact, the designs that these Djang wore on their bodies were first translated to body paintings of indigenous people during ceremony and then served as the inspiration for bark painters such as Peter Marralwanga. He passed his knowledge of rarrk to a new generation of artists and was an inspiration in their works.
Rather than employing one style of cross-hatching (rarrk) Marralwanga innovated and created, using contrasting colours, styles and application techniques to make his works shimmer with life. One such way of achieving this effect would be to visually cram a large ancestral figure within the edges of the bark, so that the "figures' spiritual energy appears to be compressed in physical form... waiting to be unleashed."
Alongside Yirawala, Marralwanga was one of the first Kunwinjku artists to experiment with painting the subject so large that it takes up nearly all of the available bark space. This change brought greater emphasis to the power and movement offered by the rarrk to fill in the painting's subject. Yet, Marralwanga remained true to his ancestral roots even in his experiments; drawing his use of brightly coloured rarrk contrasted with dotted lines directly from body designs that would be painted on during ceremony.

© Peter Marralwanga/Copyright Agency, 2025