Malaluba Gumana (born 1953) is an Australian Aboriginal artist from northeast Arnhem Land, who has gained prominence through her work in painting and the production of larrakitj,[1] the memorial poles traditionally used by Yolngu people in a mortuary ceremony.
[8] Her complex and fluid paintings frequently refer to the story of the all-powerful Rainbow Serpent or wititj (olive python) as it travels through her mother's Gålpu clan lands.
[9] She mainly represents the Gålpu clan designs of dhatam (water lily), djari (rainbow), djayku (file snake) and wititj (olive python),[7] applying the technique of marwat (cross-hatching) using a finely controlled hair brush.
[6] The trees are selected and harvested after the dry-season fires and are then smoothed and shaped for painting with ochres in a cultural process, with each larrakitj presenting clan-specific designs.
In 2008, her bark and hollow logs sold out at an exhibition with Niagara Galleries, Melbourne, and her dhatam imagery was selected by the Garma Festival of Traditional Cultures for T-shirt and promotional material.