Injalak Arts and Crafts

Injalak Arts and Crafts Association is located in Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) in Western Arnhem Land, about 300 km east of Darwin. The Association is a wholly aboriginal owned and operated enterprise and aims to promote and preserve the indigenous art and culture of Western Arnhem Land. Any income stays within the community and assists in its development.

Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) has a population of approximately 1,000 people. The language spoken is Kunwinjku with English as a second language. East of Gunbalanya and spreading as far as the Mann River in Arnhem Land are ten active outstations where several hundred people live a more traditional existence. The region from the East Alligator, which forms the border with Kakadu, to the Mann River serves as Injalak's 'artistic catchment' area. The art centre is situated in a most breathtaking location adjoining the Gunbalanya floodplains and billabong with the Arnhem Land escarpment or ‘stone country’ rising forebodingly to the east.

Injalak stocks a diverse range of quality art reflective of the creative ingenuity of the Kunwinjku (language group) people of the region including: natural ochre paintings on bark and paper, carvings, didjeridus, limited edition prints and fibre products such as baskets, mats, dilly bags and string bags. Screen-printed fabrics and T-shirts are also produced. The bark painters of Arnhem Land work from a limited palette, rarely using more than the 4 basic colours: red black, yellow and white, although sometimes the primary colours are mixed to give a pink, orange or grey. The western Arnhem Land style is typified by the art of Oenpelli, in which x-ray paintings, forceful images of spirit ancestors and delicate paintings of the Mimi spirits predominate. These are painted very finely on a plain monochrome background. The earliest paintings collected this century were from the area now known as Oenpelli, and it is these figurative images of hunting animals and stick-like figures which have come to symbolise, for many, the very essence of all Aboriginal Art.

The screen print workshop at Injalak Arts and Crafts produces a range of goods including screen printed t-shirts, tablecloths, tea towels, lengths of fabric, cushion covers and bags. The Kunwinjku women of Western Arnhem Land enjoy a hard earned reputation for the quality, diversity and originality of their weavings including baskets, mats and dilly bags. Images and copy courtesy of Injalak Arts and Crafts. www.injalak.com