Banduk Marika AO is known for her exquisite prints of ancestral creation stories on lino, her original media of choice. Born in Yirrkala in north-east Arnhem Land, Marika and her sisters are among the first Yolngu women whose male relatives have encouraged them to paint ancestral creation stories.

As well as an artist, Marika is also a passionate cultural activist and environmental adviser, who has appeared as a speaker at national and international conferences. In 1994, she and seven other artists won a court case against a company that illegally reproduced their work in Vietnam. Her story featured in the 1997 documentary Copyrights, which explored Aboriginal concept of ownership as it relates to art.

Marika has been the artist-in-residence at both the Canberra School of Art and Flinders University in South Australia. She is a traditional landowner in charge of looking after country at Yirrkala.

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