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&tDisp=Nancy Walinyinawuy Guyula is a senior fibre artist from the inland Arnhem Land community of Gapuwiyak, sometimes known as Lake Evella. Walinyinawuy and other artists from Gapuwiyak share a preference for using natural materials in the works they produce. All of the materials she uses come from her own countryÑfrom the Pandanus plant, the bark for fibre, and the roots, leaves and bark for the production of dye. The harvesting of the plant fibres is a sustainable practice allowing for regrowth of certain plants. Her perfected coiling techniques derive from mission times, while the looped string bag is part of an ongoing tradition of fibre practice in Arnhem Land.

-Written by Dr Louise Hamby, ANU.


Walinyinawuy's baskets were used for many years as the holders of prizes in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award held in Darwin. Her work is in the School of Anthropology and Archaeology Collection and in many private collections. Her work was exhibited in the exhibition of 2001, Art on a String and the 2005 exhibition Woven Forms: Contemporary Basket Making in Australia. Her work was featured in the catalogues for both of these exhibitions. She will be featured in the 2010 travelling exhibition Gapuwiyak Miyalkurrwurr Gong Djambitjmala: Women With Clever Hands.&