Maŋgalili clan, Yirritja moiety
About 1932–1981
Bokarra was the classificatory brother of Narritjin Maymuru and also a person of high ritual rank and authority. In 1963 he was among the Yolŋu group of performers in the Aboriginal Theatre Foundation, which performed in Sydney and Melbourne.
His paintings were collected by the anthropologist Helen Groger-Wurm in the mid-1960s and by American collector Ed Ruhe, whose collection now forms part of the Kluge-Ruhe Collection at the University of Virginia.
In 2009 Bokarra’s paintings in the collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia were exhibited in Yirrkala Artists: Everywhen.
Painting 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.