Deborah Wurrkidj
Biography
Deborah Wurrkidj was born in 1971 at Maningrida in north-central Arnhem Land. Her language is Kuninjku and her moiety is Duwa. Deborah is well known for her fibre weaving, bark painting, woodcarving and printmaking.
Deborah is a versatile artist who has readily adapted to new art forms while retaining strong clan traditions. Her work is tactile and intricate and illustrates the artistic innovation that has occurred in Maningrida over the last 30 years.
Alongside her highly regarded fine art practice Deborah, with her mother, Helen Lanyinwanga, and sister Jennifer Wurrkidj has been working at Bábbarra Designs since 1991. She is a leading textile artist and an integral member of Bábbarra Women’s Centre.
Deborah has exhibited nationally including the 19th Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2020 and is represented in a number of state and private collections. In 2019 she was one of five artists who travelled with the Bàbbarra Women’s Centre to Paris, France for the opening of Jarracharra: Dry Season Wind. In 2023 she travelled to India as the internationally touring Jarracharra exhibition was opening. During this trip Deborah met with local artisans and experimented with translating her designs into traditional Indian woodblock printing.
Artworks for sale
Past Exhibitions
Group
- 2022
Northern Waters, Short St Gallery Broome
- 2022
Spirit in Bark, Koskela Gallery Rosebery
- 2022
Thread Count, Agency Projects & Padre Coffee
- 2021
Spirit Worlds: Contemporary Works from Maningrida, Michael Reid Berlin
- 2021
Lineage, Delmar Gallery, Ashfield NSW
- 2020
Tarnanthi Art Fair, Lot Fourteen, Adelaide SA
- 2020
Resilience – The Power of the Past Reverberates Today, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Gallery
- 2020
RESILIENCE: The power of the past today – Maningrida, Aboriginal Signature Estrangin Fine Art, Brussels, BELGUIM
- 2020
Tiwi Islands to Arnhem Land
- 2019
Tarnanthi Art Fair 2019, AGSA
- 2019
Bukkan Rowk – ‘I am teaching you’ THE CONTINUING TRADITION OF BALANG JAMES IYUNA, Outstation Gallery
- 2018
From Coast to Escarpment: Spirit Worlds of Maningrida, Michael Reid, Sydney, NSW
- 2018
Ngaldjorlhbo | Mother of Everything | Mère de Toute Création, IDAIA, Paris, France
- 2018
Karrang Kunred: Motherland, Cross Art Projects, Sydney, NSW
- 2017
Karridjowkke Kunronj (Crossing Streams), Nomad Art, Darwin, NT
- 2014
Barks, Spirit Figures, Lorrkon and Ceremonial Poles, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2010
Replant: a new generation of botanical art, National touring exhibition, curated by Nomad Arts, Darwin, NT
- 2009
Orche – A Study in Materiality, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA
- 2009
Fibre & Rarrk – Marina Murdilnga & Debra Wurrkidj, Vivian Anderson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
- 2009
Sculpture Show, Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
- 2009
26th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
- 2009
Works in Season: Bark Paintings, Carvings & Weavings, Hogarth Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2009
During the Wet, Hemphill Fine Arts, Washington, USA
- 2009
Ancestral Spirit Beings and Ceremonial Lorrkon, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2009
Survey from Maningrida Arts & Culture, The Mossenson Gallery, Perth, WA
- 2008
Weaving around the Traps, Chapman & Bailey, Melbourne, VIC
- 2008
Recent works from Maningrida, Chapman Gallery, Canberra, ACT
- 2008
Womens show, Vivien Anderson Gallery, Melbourne, VIC
- 2008
African Muse, Ecorces recentes de Maningrida, Galerie Luc Bertier, Paris, France
- 2008
Maningrida Arising, Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi, Melbourne, VIC
- 2008
Maningrida Art, Chapman Gallery, Canberra
- 2008
25th National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Awards Exhibition, Museum and Art Gallery Northern Territory, Darwin, NT
- 2007
Spirit in Variation Part II, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, NSW
- 2007
Bark Paintings from Maningrida, Short Street Gallery, Broome, WA
- 2006
Cross-section – a collection of prints from NTU stockroom, NTU, Darwin, NT
- 2005
Paris-Djinkarr-Milmilngkan, Maningrida Arts & Culture, Darwin, NT
- 2004
Crossing Country – The alchemy of Western Arnhem Land art, AGNSW, Sydney, NSW
- 2003
Weave, NTU Gallery, Darwin, NT
- 2003
Weave, Federation Centre for the Arts, Bundoora Homestead, VIC
- 2002
Maningrida Fibre, Redback Art Gallery, QLD
- 2002
19th Telstra National & Torres Strait Islander Art Award Exhibition, Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin
- 2001
Good Colour : prints from Maningrida Womens Centre, Raft Artspace, Darwin
Collections
- Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, QLD
- Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, SA
- Artbank, Sydney, Australia