Yindjibarndi Elder and Artist, Wendy Hubert, has been invited to present a major new body of work as part of the 25th Biennale of Sydney this year.

The Biennale of Sydney is Australia's largest contemporary visual arts event and one of the most significant biennials in the Asia-Pacific region. Curated by one of contemporary art's most influential figures, Hoor Al Qasimi, the 25th Biennale's theme Rememory explores how acts of remembering—personal, familial, and collective—can reclaim histories that have been erased or overlooked.

In 2022, many Yindjibarndi people, including Ms Hubert, returned to live at Ngurrawaana Community on their ancestral homelands, the magnificent Yindjibarndi Tablelands in the Pilbara, Western Australia. This significant return to Ngurra (Country) is accompanied by a community-driven mission to maintain strong culture for the next generations of Yindjibarndi people, to regenerate land devastated by mining, and to safeguard it against the impacts of climate change.

This important new work for the Biennale of Sydney is another example of Juluwarlu's artistic mindset led by its co-founder and Artistic Director Lorraine Coppin, in continuing to drive creativity and artistic innovation that supports Yindjibarndi artists to be on the horizon and spirited.

Underpinned by the Yindjibarndi principle of Nyinyart (reciprocity) between all, including with Country, the initiative focuses around designing a sanctuary to support native flora and fauna, provide bush medicine, and aid the reintroduction of nearly extinct native animal species; as integral to the ongoing sharing of dynamic creative cultural projects caring for Ngurra (home).

As a fierce Cultural Custodian, Ms Hubert has played a vital role in this work, drawing on deep cultural knowledge to produce emotive, gestural artworks of native plants, animals, knowledge, sacred place, integral to Yindjibarndi culture and Country.

"We came back here to Ngurrawaana with nothing... we stopped in the bottom camp down there," Ms Hubert said in November.

"Now we're still teaching our children to see the Country how we see it, that's the most important one. That's why we're painting, to teach our children. And we're teaching everyone else about Yindjibarndi Country.

"Our ancestors have left the Country for us, and we need to take charge, teaching our children, the Galharra (skin group family system) and all this they've got to learn."

Significantly expanding her practice in collaboration with the Juluwarlu Art Group Collective and the Yindjibarndi Rangers, Ms Hubert has created a major new multidisciplinary installation - combining a suite of the paintings she is known for, with video projection, sound, and a large scale indoor/outdoor 'garden' installation - on site at Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery, for the 25th Biennale of Sydney.

Developed in consultation with Dharug knowledge holders in Penrith, the installation will combine rich and culturally significant materials from Yindjibarndi Country in the Pilbara, Western Australia, with local native plants, fostering a respectful and unique cross-cultural dialogue grounded in Dharug Country.

The gardens at Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery will be transformed into an immersive, On-Country-inspired experience that reflects the immense regeneration efforts taking place at Ngurrawaana with key sacred sites reimagined.

Yindjibarndi Nyinyart at Ms Hubert's Garden generously shares the five principles by which Yindjibarndi people have lived in harmony with Country for thousands of years. These principles are: Ngurra (home), Wangga (Truth, Language), Galharra (Kinship), Birdarra (Ceremony) and Nyinyart (Reciprocity).

The overall 'garden / exhibition installation' will function as a living space for gathering and learning, offering visitors a rare opportunity to experience Yindjibarndi Country within an urban gallery context - on the opposite side of the continent.

An integral component of Yindjibarndi Nyinyart at the Garden is a trans-continental road trip by members of the Juluwarlu Art Group Collective and Yindjibarndi Rangers, who will travel and transport cultural materials from Yindjibarndi Country to Sydney, working with Ms Hubert on the installation and sharing important cultural performances for the opening weekend. This journey is integral to the work and will be shared via digital media platforms, as well as becoming a video component of the Biennale installation.

Yindjibarndi Nyinyart at Wendy's Garden is supported by the 25th Biennale of Sydney, Regional Arts Western Australia, University of Western Australia School of Design, Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation, and Yindjibarndi Rangers.

Exhibition details

Opening Weekend: Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 March 2026

Venue: Lewers: Penrith Regional Gallery

Time: From 10am-4pm until 14 June 2026

Cost: Free