Alfred Walpay

Alfred Walpay is a Gupapuyŋu artist known for his knowledge and playful use of materials. He lives and creates his artwork on his mother’s homeland of Boḏiya, on the island of Milingimbi.

Walpay prefers to paint his clan designs onto sculptural works rather than djaḻumbu (burial poles) or bark. He uses all natural materials harvested on Milingimbi and nearby islands to create his sculptural works. His works express his own clan identity and relationship to his clan country and animals, as well as his mother’s Gorryindi clan. The materials he uses include sedge grass, pandanus, kurrajong, kakadu plum sap, cottonwood, feathers and natural pigments.

Walpay often works in collaboration with his wife, master weaver, Jennifer Ḏikarr.