Through the camera you can see creation happening

Milkum ga walŋa: pattern, camera, life showcases a unique vision for co-creation honed over many years by Paul Gurrumuruwuy Wunungmurra (1955 – 2024), a Yolŋu performer, scholar and artist who lived with his close family in the outstation of Yalakun, Northern Territory.

Developed as part of Charles Darwin University’s Dual Academy initiative, this exhibition features films, images and commentary collated for his doctoral submission.

Many Yolŋu paint their designs on bark. My way is different. The camera allows me to work on the first, or top, layer of gamunuŋgu and dhulaŋ, the patterns, colours and designs that come from the land and the waters of our ancestors. This way you can see creation happening.

Milkum means that if you look, something will show itself. And that’s why the images and patterns in this exhibition are mundurr, a gift. Tourist cameras go dhap, dhap, dhap, everywhere, all the time. But what do they see? This work is all about walŋa, life. Your life and my life.

It’s about renewing life. Together.

— Paul Gurrumuruwuy

Presented by Miyarrka Media and Midpul Art Gallery at CDU