Barrbinj clan, Kuninjku language, Yirridjdja moiety
About 1905–1977
The earliest recorded bark paintings by Balirrbalirr were collected by the anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt in the 1940s. His work was included in the Berndts’ influential exhibition The Art of Arnhem Land at the Western Australian Museum in 1957. This exhibition was the first to identify Aboriginal artists by name and clan.
Balirrbalirr was later represented in other major exhibitions, including: Australian Aboriginal Art, an Art Gallery of New South Wales exhibition that toured the country in 1960–61; The Art of Aboriginal Australia, which toured North America in 1974–76; Kunwinjku Bim at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1984; and Keepers of the Secrets at the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1990.
Paintings in the exhibition
All these bark paintings are part of the National Museum of Australia’s collection. © the artist or the artist’s estate, licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency 2013, unless otherwise specified. These images must not be reproduced in any form without permission.