Art has played an important and sustained part in the Marika family life, which led Wally Caruana, the former curator of Aboriginal Art at the National Gallery of Australia, to liken them to the Boyd dynasty.

The Marikas are highly regarded as talented artists, educationalists, cultural ambassadors, environmentalists, and activists.Mawalan 1 and his brothers Mathaman, Milirrpum and Roy Dadaynga Marika, were all accomplished artists and passionate advocates of Indigenous rights. It was their involvement in the historic Gove Land Right Case that led to the passing of the first land rights legislation in Australia.

Mawalan’s son, Wandjuk Marika, was also a prolific artist and tireless ambassador for his people and the first chairman of the Australia Council’s Aboriginal Arts Board. Wandjuk’s son, Mawalan 2 Marika, and his sisters, Banduk and Dhuwarrwarr Marika, Milirrpum’s son, Wanyubi Marika, Mathaman’s daughter, Yalmay, and Dhuwarrwarra’s son, Barrmula Yunupingu, are also talented practitioners proudly carrying on their family’s cultural legacy while embracing new media and innovative ways of depicting their stories. All of these artists feature in the Yalangbara: Art of the Djang’kawu exhibition.

More info available here: https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/yalangbara/marika-family