I hold close the words of Big Bill Neidjie, the last speaker of the now-extinct Gaagudju language and a respected elder of Kakadu, Northern Territory. In his book Kakadu Man, he shares:

(1983) “Our story is the land ... it is written in those sacred places. My children will look after those places, that's the law. Dreaming place ... you can't change it, no matter who you are. No matter you rich man. No matter you King. You can't change it.”

These words ground my work. Still deeply relevant today, they are a powerful reminder that our connection to Country, to story, and to Dreaming continues on. It cannot be broken.

Captured on Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country by Kieran Satour.

I’m proud to share this new body of work: KUYU PRINTS

KUYU, meaning child in Kalkutungu, is the child who remembers, the child who listens, carves, and carries story.

These works honour living memory and the quiet power of resistance. They are shaped by years of learning alongside Country, alongside my kurlu (papa), and through deep immersion in many forms of storytelling. Bridging the traditional and the contemporary, they move with the slow rhythm of wood and lino carving, ink, paper, and memory. They explore the deep connections between land, language, and body.

Above all, these works are guided by who I am and where I come from, a proud descendant of the Waanyi and Kalkutungu peoples of so-called Australia, and the Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Manu, and Te Ātiawa iwi of Taranaki, Aotearoa (so-called New Zealand).

Created across many lands far and near: Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country (Naarm), Gimuy Walubara Yidi (Cairns), Kalkutungu Country (Cloncurry, Mount Isa), and Arrernte Country (Alice Springs).

Curriculum Vitae

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Past Exhibitions

2024 — Original print artwork exhibited at the 11th Koorie Art Show (Naarm)

2024 — Look ere! Exhibition at Black Spark (Naarm)

2023 — Original print artwork exhibited at Mossman Picture Framing & Gallery (Kuku Yalanji)

Awards

2024 — Recipient of the Kestin Indigenous Illustrator Award

Press

To purchase a print please get in touch.

I'm not currently selling prints but I will be soon. Keep an eye out for future releases, and thank you for your interest and support.

waari.world@gmail.com
blakkuyu

WAARI
waari.world

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KUYU PRINTS C.V. MATARIKITE WHARE TANGATA MUKI THAAMU MARTU AYATPIAYURTUYURTU KUATHUAT

KUYU PRINTS
C.V.

MATARIKI
TE WHARE TANGATA
MUKI
THAAMU
MARTU
AYATPIA
YURTUYURTU
KUATHUAT