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Bush yam and bark

Moving image: Explore cultures and art making around the world

"Ms Wirrpanda carried the knowledge and the wisdom of her people. She was the daughter of Dhakiyarr Wirrpanda and an elder of the Dhudi-Djapu clan from Dhuruputjpi".

July 3, 2025
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This is the food we ate when I was young. Back then everywhere we looked there were old people. Strong and healthy – they lived with us for a long time.

“This is the food we ate when I was young. Back then everywhere we looked there were old people. Strong and healthy – they lived with us for a long time”.

In this short film we join Ms Wirrpanda at the Buku-Larrnggay Art Centre in Yirrkala, East Arnhem Land. Ms Wirrpanda works alongside artist Ms Marawili in the centre’s outdoor painting area as she paints on bark using traditional ochres.

Also an accomplished printmaker, Ms Wirrpanda signs her prints at the Buku-Larrnggay Art Centre’s Yirrkala Print Space. At the time of filming, the print space was co-ordinated by Annie Studd.

Ms Wirrpanda’s works describe early events during Ancestral (and present) times at Yalata close to the Dhudi-Djapu clan homeland of Dhuruputjpi.

Ms Wirrpanda was also expert in her knowledge of plants and their uses in the East Arnhem Land region and had a long and creative friendship with fellow artist John Wolseley.

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