Owen Yalandja

Owen Yalandja is a prominent Kuninjku artist from the Maningrida region in Western Arnhem Land, Norther Territory. He is known for his mastery of carved wooded sculptures, particularly representations of the Yawkyawk spirits. Yalandja learned the art of carving in the early 1980s from his father, Crusoe Kuningbal, a pioneering artist who, in the early 1960s, introduced the Mimih spirit in sculptural form for use in a trade ceremony called Mamurrng trade ceremonies. Owen Yalandja belongs to the Darnkolo clan, which has re-established an outstation community at Barrihdjowkkeng, near a sacred billabong tied to Yirridjdja moiety. This site is believed to be home to Yawkyawk spirits, young women who transformed into mermaid-like beings with fish tails. It is said that their shadows can sometimes be glimpsed by those who approach the billabong.