Ages 1–6

In this arts and craft activity children will take inspiration from the mermaid story depicted in the bark paintings of Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu, a contemporary Yolŋu artist from Yirrkala, North-East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory whose work is the subject of the NGV Kids exhibition The Gecko and the Mermaid: Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu and Her Sister.

The activity encourages young artists to draw a self-portrait of themselves as a mermaid and create a three-dimensional diorama of an ocean-inspired world where a mermaid would live.

Image: Eunice Djerrkŋu Yunupiŋu I am a mermaid 2020 earth pigments and recycled print toner on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.) 255.0 × 57.0 cm. Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.