Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu

Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu (1935–2005; also rendered Yunupiŋu) was a senior Yolngu artist and matriarch, who lived in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia. She worked at the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, where her work is still held, and is known for her graphic art style, bark paintings, and printmaking.

Life and family Nancy Gaymala Yunupingu was born around 1935, the daughter of Mungurrawuy Yunupingu. Her mother, Bakili, was an artist and elder of the Galpu clan. Two of her brothers were musician Galarrwuy and land rights campaigner Mandawuy Yunupingu. Her sisters included artists Gulumbu Yunupingu, Barrupu Yunupingu, Nyapanyapa Yunupingu, and Eunice Djerrkngu Yunupingu (1945–2022), among others.

Gaymala's moiety was Yirritja and her clans Gumatj and Rrakpala. Her homeland was Biranybirany.

She died in 2005.

The Wan'kurra, or golden bandicoot, which features prominently in song-cycles in Gumatj ceremonies, was a common motif in her work, often running through scrubland.

2003: Groundswell: An exhibition of Aboriginal art, a multi-artist exhibition at the Helen Maxwell Gallery

December 2021 – April 2022: Bark Ladies: Eleven Artists from Yirrkala, an exhibition from the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, held at the National Gallery of Victoria, also featuring the work of Noŋgirrŋa Marawili, Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, Barrupu Yunupiŋu, Dhambit Munuŋgurr, Marrnyula Munuŋgurr, Mulkun Wirrpanda, Naminapu Maymuru-White, and others, including bark paintings and larrakitj (burial poles)

Collections The National Gallery of Victoria holds Bäru story (1990), painted with earth pigments on the bark of stringybark.

Her work is also held in major collections around Australia, including: National Museum of Australia (Aboriginal Arts Board Collection), Canberra National Gallery of Australia, Canberra National Maritime Museum, Sydney Museums Victoria, Melbourne Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin Charles Darwin University, CDU Art Collection, which holds two etchings and four screenprints