Laundry Gallery presents Bawalamirr Warrakan (Any kind of bird), an exhibition of 37 hand-painted bird carvings by Yolgŋu artists Judy Manany Gurruwiwi & Megan Yunupingu from Elcho Island Arts.

“The birds we do are around the island, not just here on Galiwin’ku but also around Arnhem Land, we see them all the time ... they are related to us, they come from the two moieties, Dhuwa and Yirritja, and they have our Yolgŋu names.” - Megan Yunupingu 

“We’ll have owls [at Laundry Gallery] and then there is the frogmouth owl that my Aunty Judy does, she’s come up with the idea of how to paint hers, and they look wonderful, but it’s not just the owls this time, it’s going to have cockatoos and herons, pelicans …” - Megan Yunupingu 

“These wooden sculptures are made from wood which is usually collected in the dry season. We prefer Milkwood and Cottonwood. Firstly, we go to the bush and cut the wood and carry it back to the vehicle. It is often a long walk, through prickly vines and scrub. The bark is taken off and then the wood is let to dry for a short period. It is shaped by a knife and chisels, then sanded smooth and then an ochre paint is selected to go down as the first coat.” - ​​Judy Manany Gurruwiwi

“First you get the fine piece of hair, you dip it into the paint, and you start shaking, it’s really nerve wracking and you’ve got to hold your breath, in the beginning, but gradually you get used to doing it and you get that confidence in you. And you have to tell yourself it's easy, you can do this, you have to motivate yourself each time, that’s how I grew to love doing art. It’s just a calming feeling. It calms you down if you’re having a hard day, you can always go back and do your art at a peaceful time.” - Megan Yunupingu 

We were excited to learn that this exhibition is not Megan’s first time at our lovely little art laundromat. On a recent visit to Darwin with ANKA, memories came flooding back for Megan as she sat in the gallery.

“... we used to live in the city in the early 80s when I was little, and my mother and I used to go there and she’d do the washing and the laundry in that place… I felt a bit emotional actually, because I could see myself in there looking at those magazines, the comics like Spiderman and Phantom, waiting to do the washing. So I think it will be something special to me. And when I came back and I told my Aunty Judy about it, I was telling her because my mum is the eldest sister of Judy.”

“I hope that people will come and see our show because it will be a wonderful show, a brilliant show, an awesome show, and because it talks about nature and the birds that surround us. I hope you will love it” - Megan Yunupingu