The artwork Yawkyawk was painted by Indigenous artist Jimmy Njiminjuma. Jimmy Njiminjuma was born in the Arnhem region. Jimmy Njiminjuma was born in 1947 and unfortunately died in 2004. The place of origin is Mumeka, Central Arnhem land, Northern territory, Australia. This painting was finished in 2000. The painting is a bark painting and the materials used for the painting were natural pigments painted on flattened eucalyptus bark. The techniques used were cross hatching, bark flattening, passing down the techniques and knowledge of Aboriginal painting and geometric design. The size of the painting is 157cm x 63cm, which is considered irregular. The bark painting Yawkyawk is a picture of a girl who has a fishtail. The background is brown, there are ochre colours in lines and in cross-hatching. The figure stands out from the land and background and is painted white. The girl represents a water spirit. The connection with the Dreaming is that it shows beliefs of the Kunwinjku people. This is because she appears to be a fish and water spirit, and the Kunwinjku people believe that landscape forms were made from ancestors who weren't human. These ancestors are believed by the Kunwinjku people to still exist today in the same form. The girl's long, flowing hair represents the flowing rivers and streams. The hair also represents the flow of algae that is found in the local water and streams. The girl is painted in front of a sacred land of Milmingkan. A water hole is represented by the cross-hatching on the left. The water hole is important to Indigenous Australians because water brings life and supplies nutrients to the people and the land. .
The Dreaming has been described as something like a religion. It is values, morals and stories for the Indigenous people. The Dreaming is how the Ancestral beings created life and natural landmarks/monuments. In the Dreamtime stories, the Ancestral beings would come to the Earth in human form and then create animals, plant life and other landforms.
