Michael Boiyool Anning (b.1955) Atherton Tablelands. Durga-barra clan of the Yidinji people, Tropical North Queensland. From the late 1980s Michael has revived the unique tradition of making artefacts such as Big-unn (shields) and Nalanyugal (fire makers).
His language name Boiyool means a piece of lawyer cane cut to enable a non lethal quantity of poison to be released into the waterholes when hunting fish. Boiyool Is also the name of a mythical being, half human and half eel which travelled up waterways naming significant sites in the Dreaming. In 1998 Anning won the Wandjuk Marika Memorial Award for sculpture at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards. Between 2000-2004 Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art purchased 15 of Anning’s shields for the exhibition Story Place: Indigenous Art from Cape York and the Rainforest (2003-2005).
His works Big-unn Wanggulay(White Cockatoo), Firemaker Murrgu(Earth Oven) and Firemaker Wirrgay(Grass Basket) carry his strong and purposeful markings. They hold a powerful and distinctive presence.
His works are exhibited nationally and overseas. Anning’s works are held in private and public collections including Cairns Regional Gallery, Cairns Convention Centre, Queensland Museum, QAGOMA.
