Yinjaa-Barni Art is a collective of Aboriginal artists who predominantly belong to the Yindjibarndi language group and whose ancestral homelands surround the Fortescue River and Millstream Tablelands. Based in Roebourne, a small town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region of the north-west of the state, the Yinjaa-Barni artists create deeply personal works of collective memory, rendering the wildflowers, river systems and landforms of their country onto canvas. Yinjaa-Barni artists have exhibited nationally and internationally and have won multiple awards between them, with high profile artists Mr Mack and Allery Sandy both nominated for one of the country’s most prestigious Indigenous art prizes, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award, and works by Aileen Sandy, Maudie Jerrold and Mr Mack held by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. For the senior members of the group, art is an important means of expressing and relaying love for their Country, their culture, and the flora of the region. They use this, along with storytelling, as a way of passing on their knowledge to the younger generations, who are rapidly gaining recognition as artists in their own right. Yinjaa-Barni Art Centre would like to acknowledge and thank Rio Tinto for its continuous support over the years.
