Tate Modern, London, has acquired Milŋiyawuy, a series of meticulous black and white paintings on bark, by senior Yolŋu artist Naminapu Maymuru-White. Milŋiyawuy translates to ‘Milky Way’ in English, and the work is part of the River of Stars exhibition by independent curator Jenn Ellis for Breguet’s stand at Frieze London 2024.
Maymuru-White is a member of Maŋgalili clan of the Yirritja moiety and, at the age of 72, she is a force to be reckoned with. She began painting at the age of 12 and is one of the first Yolŋu women to be taught to paint miny’tji, a sacred design of her clan that encapsulates both the Milŋiyawuy River across Maŋgalili Country and the celestial Milky Way.
In the past year alone, Maymuru-White’s works have been shown internationally at the 60th Venice Biennale, Art Basel Hong Kong and Frieze London, and they will travel to Washington in 2025 as part of the largest exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art to be presented overseas. Maymuru-White’s works were also presented at Sullivan+Strumpf’s booth at Frieze London this year, alongside pieces by Gregory Hodge and Lindy Lee.
Ellis described Maymuru-White’s pieces as “a spiritual tale about connection and collective humanity”. She said, “I am particularly excited about showing Naminapu Maymuru-White, a leading First Nations artist, because of her emphasis on storytelling and ancestry. Her bark paintings tell the tale of her ancestors, how they travel in a river leading up to the skies and are seen in the stars, the Milky Way, looking over us.”
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This acquisition by Tate Modern furthers its interest in Australian First Nations art. Last year, Tate Modern hosted A Year in Art: Australia 1992, an exhibition which centred Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land rights and presented works jointly acquired by the Tate and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA). In 2025, it will also present a solo exhibition of Anmatyerr artist Emily Kam Kngwarray.
Maymuru-White’s Milŋiyawuy joins works by a number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in the Tate’s collection, including those of Kam Kngwarray, Richard Bell, Judy Watson, Gordon Bennett, John Mawurndjul and D Harding.