The Ancestral Tide: Yingapungapu Sand Sculptures at Blue Mud Bay

The Ancestral Tide introduces seven Yolngu artists belonging to three Yirritja clan groups—Maḏarrpa, Dhalwangu and Manggalili—whose lands border Blue Mud Bay. The exhibition centres on the Yingapungapu, a ceremonial sand sculpture in the shape of a canoe used in Yolngu mortuary practices. According to clan songs, an ancient inundation—possibly connected to the flooding of the Arafura Sill at the end of the last Ice Age around 12,000 years ago—caused the death of hunters on an epic quest. This cataclysmic event continues to be commemorated through mortuary ceremonies and artistic practice. The works on display include bark paintings with natural ochres, metal engravings, and archival video documentation exploring the cultural and spiritual significance of this ancient history and its ongoing transmission through Yolngu knowledge systems.