Muluymuluy Wirrpanda | Bulwutja

Born in 1959, Muluymuluy was the youngest wife of the famed North-East Arnhem Land elder Wakuthi Marawili, a most revered elder. For many years, Muluyumuluy worked under Wakuthi's direction to produce important Madarrpa-clan paintings. After her husbands death in 2005, she began painting in her own right.

Heralding from a family of senior artists, including her sister Mulkun Wirrpanda, and Wakuthi’s soms Djambawa (winner of the 2019 Telstra Art Award) and Nuwandjall, Muluymuluy has established a unique style unlike that of her families Madarrpa-clan paintings.

Muluymuluy holds extensive knowledge of native plants of North East Arnhem Land and her artwork embodies this knowledge. Her delicate bark paintings, works on paper and larrakitj (hollow logs) depict an array of native plants including berries, yams, edible species such as Buwakul (native grape), Dilminyin (scaly ash), and Ganguri/Manmuna (long yam). The predominant species that is represented is that of the Bulwutja, a plant that grows in and around the billabongs and swampy areas of Muluymuluy’s home.

Muluymuluy states:

“This story is from a long time ago. People traveled around from place to place to hunt for ŋatha (food). First we dig in the water for Buḻwutja. Then we make a fire. When the fire burns down we take the coals to one side and put sand on top of them. Then the hot sand cooks the Buḻwutja.

When you pick the Bu’wutja it is white from the water. It tastes sweet. We have eaten this ŋatha for a long time.”

The process in which Muluymuluy describes the collection of Bulwutja is not too dissimilar to the process in which her bark paintings and larrakitj are sourced. She is present during each step, from sourcing to preparing the bark and logs. She applies the natural earth pigments delicately - organically meandering the barks surface. Each layer is a subtle shift of monochromatic pigments that is reminiscent to the Bulwutja.

Muluymuluy’s sister Mulkun described the Bulwutja in the book titled “Midawarr | Harvest”, that was published by John Wolseley in 2017:

“Bulwutja is one of the plants which grows in and around the billabongs and swampy areas. The plants grow in clumps after the rains, and you pull them out in clumps. You cook it underground or on coals, and then mash it into a blackish grey paste that is tasty and nutritious. This paste can also be baked into a bread”

Furthermore the story of the Bulwutja is that of women traversing the land. In the words of Mulkun:

“Buḻwutja grows on the Garaŋarri floodplain, south of Dhuruputjpi, and also at Lumatjpi, near Yilpara where the songs tell of the spirit woman Marrnyili. Men sing the songs of this food entangled with the identity of this place. They sing the journey of this woman through the landscape"

With her artwork largely unseen outside the Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre, Cooee Art is pleased to showcase Muluymuluy’s first solo exhibition, after an overwhelming response to her art showcased at Sydney Contemporary 2019 at Carriageworks.