Edward Blitner

Date of Birth 1961 Edward Blitner is an artist, carver and yidaki (didgeridoo) maker from the Yugul Mangi community in southern Arnhem Land. His family have been craftsmen and artists for many generations and Blitner himself is known for his finely honed skills, that he now shares with the younger members of his community. Blitner is devoted to teaching those in underprivileged positions his expertise as a well-known contemporary artist, as well as ancestral Dreamings and other traditional knowledge.  Blitner works with a mixture of mediums, but uses a traditional colour palette of black, white, red and yellow. He incorporates the X-ray and cross-hatching style (rrarrk) that his Country is known for, often spending several weeks finishing and perfecting a single piece. Each cross-hatching artist works in a different particular pattern, taught to them by their clan. In Blitner’s works, he depicts Dreamings passed on to him by his grandfather and community Elders and paints a variety of subjects such as spirits (for example Mimi), animals, food, men’s business, totems and ancestors.