In a first for Australia, a digital artwork by Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu, a Gumatj artist and filmmaker from The Mulka Project, will be showcased on the Bourke Street 3DA billboard in Melbourne's CBD for one week.

The artwork, titled 'Bäru Gurtha', will premiere at 5.30pm on Monday 3 June on oOh!media’s Bourke Street billboard for a special 25-minute showing. The two-minute artwork will then feature on the billboard once every hour from 3-9 June, reaching an average of almost 100,000 pedestrians who pass the site daily.

This initiative is the result of a partnership between the National Gallery and oOh!media. The Bourke Street billboard is one of oOh!media’s full motion 3D anamorphic sites – a six-storey high screen and the largest outdoor animated site in Australia. This will be the first time a 3DA site has been activated with a work of art by a First Nations artist in Australia.

Yunupiŋu, who was born deaf, has crafted a new 3D digital artwork that incorporates his clan's designs, totems and his cultural Yolŋu sign language to communicate their intrinsic connection. 'Bäru Gurtha' follows a successful partnership with oOh!media to present the 'Know My Name' Outdoor Art Event in February 2020 as part of the National Gallery’s gender equity initiative. Works by 45 Australian women artists from the national collection featured on some 3,000 classic and digital billboards nationally, reaching over 12 million people.

"We are passionate about taking art beyond the walls of the Gallery and our partnership with oOh!media is a great example of finding new platforms to share art with the public," National Gallery Director, Dr Nick Mitzevich, said. "The Mulka Project is a dynamic collective of artists who work with cutting-edge digital technologies and Gutiŋarra Yunupiŋu has created an exciting new work about his culture that takes full advantage of the 3DA full motion site."

Head of Creative at oOh!media, Josh Gurgiel, said the collaboration highlighted the innovative possibilities of digital art and 3D Anamorphic technology.

"We’re thrilled to provide a platform that connects cultural heritage and storytelling of Australia’s First peoples with modern technology, engaging audiences in a truly unique way," he said.