Gunybi Ganambarr exemplifies the confidence and cultural assertion of the young experimental artists of north eastern Arnhem Land. Whilst remaining firmly guided and influenced by elders and senior artists such as Djambawa Marawili and Wanyubi Marika, his practice now includes carved, incised and painted barks and poles, as well as reworked found materials such as wire, metal sheeting and conveyor belt rubber from the local bauxite mine.

As a house builder at his remote outstation, Gunybi learned to use a range of tools, and also developed an appreciation of the inherent potential in materials for art-making. His creative use of tools and materials follows practices in the region since the 1930s when Yolngu began to recover iron and steel from traders and shipwrecks to work into formidable spear blades. For example, Nganmarra, made from a panel unbolted from a disused galvanised iron water tank, has Ngaymil clan designs ground into the surface and is sealed and polished to an attractive sheen. On the reverse side, painted in 1996 in red ochre, are the initials of a close group of young girls connected with the outstation. Gunybi chose this particular panel to work because of a nostalgic memory of happy times at Gangan.

Gunybi Ganambarr lives mostly on his mother’s country at Gangan, the creative environment there fuelling his unique artistic style. Though primarily a visual artist, sharing sacred stories and knowledge from his mother’s Yirritja moiety and the Dhuwa moiety to which he belongs, Gunybi also holds important cultural roles within the community, including performing ceremonial yidaki.