Susan Marawarr

Susan Marawarr was born in 1967 and is a Kuninjku speaker. She is an accomplished printmaker, sculptor, weaver and bark painter, known for her striking black and white palette. Marawarr is the sister of acclaimed bark painters James Iyuna and John Mawurndjul.

Black and white image of a First Nations woman sitting on ground painting an artwork, corrugated iron wall in background.

Susan Marawarr. Photo: Babbarra Designs.

Susan’s design for our Bábbarra Collection is called Wak Wak (Black Crow Dreaming). Wak Wak features rarrk (cross-hatching), which refers to the crow totem ancestor, Djimarr. Today Djimarr exists in the form of a submerged rock at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek, south of Maningrida. Both the rock and the area around it are considered sacred. The crow design was once used in the sacred Mardayin ceremony, now rarely conducted in Central Arnhem Land.

Interior with wooden cabinets with ceramic objects on shelf, wallpaper on walls featuring First Nations design in khaki and white

Wak Wak wallpaper in ‘Mud Flats’ from the Bábbarra Collection. Photo: Fabrikate / Mirage Homes.

Fabric laid out with soft folds featuring First Nations design with colours of brown and white

Wak Wak in ‘Bush Nut’ on our Indoor Weave fabric.

Upholstered chair in white space featuring First Nations design in black and grey
Upholstered chair in white space featuring First Nations design in black and grey

Wak Wak in ‘Storm’ on Velvet, upholstered on the Wes Armchair by Tom Fereday for Zenith. Photo: Haydn Cattach.

Australian landscape with native trees and small palms in foreground

Native trees near Wurdeja homeland, an hour drive east from Maningrida. Photo: Ingrid Johanson.

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Colleen Ngwarraye Morton