Meet the Marking the Infinite Artists: Gulumbu Yunupingu

In this series, we introduce the nine artists behind Marking the Infinite: Contemporary Women Artists from Aboriginal Australia, on view at The Phillips Collection June 2–September 9, 2018. 

GULUMBU YUNUPINGU 

Born c. 1943, Gunyangara, Northern Territory 
Died 2012, Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory (
Gumatj/Australian) 

Gulumbu Yunupingu is one of Australia’s most acclaimed contemporary bark painters. In her community she is equally regarded for her healing powers and traditional remedies. Born into an important Yolngu family, her father was artist Mungurrawuy Yunupingu, leader of the Gumatj clan. An accomplished translator, communicator, and traditional healer, she began her artistic career in the late 1990s. Within a few years her work was represented at World Expo in Hanover, Germany, and received first prize at the prestigious National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. In 2006, she was one of eight artists whose work was incorporated into the design for the new Musée du quai Branly in Paris.