Gulumerridjin (Larrakia), Wardaman and KarraJarri artist Jenna Mayilema Lee has turned maps from the British Museum into paper danala for the Telstra Work on Paper Award at the 2026 Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA).

Now in its 43rd year, Telstra NATSIAA brings together First Nations artists from across the country, with 64 works selected from 221 entries for this year's exhibition at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.

Ms Lee, who is based in Naarm (Melbourne), works primarily in sculpture and installation, using paper as her main medium.

Her finalist work, 'Taking back taken', is made from printed paper maps, book-binding thread, archival glue and wire.

The work is comprised of six danala, or dillybags, made from maps collected from the British Museum and brought back to Australia over several years.

Ms Lee said being named a finalist was exciting because NATSIAA was an award she had long valued.

"It's absolutely my favourite award ever, but also kind of my favourite week," she told National Indigenous Times.

"I get to go back to Country, stay with family, like I try and go up every year for it, regardless of if I'm a finalist or not.

"To be selected as a finalist is such a huge deal and not something I was expecting."

She had always known the British Museum maps would become a NATSIAA work.

Ms Lee began collecting the maps while living in London before COVID, when she chose not to make the suggested donation for visitor maps at the museum.

She later asked friends and family travelling to London to do the same and bring the maps back to Australia.

"This year I've made a work where, when I was living in London just before COVID, I stole maps from the British Museum," Ms Lee said.

"It's a bit cheeky because what they do is they ask for a two pound donation and you get this fold-out map that helps you find your way around the museum.

"Obviously with the British Museum's history of looting and pillaging and kind of claiming things through imperial colonisation of most of the world, I thought it would be really funny to take maps without paying."

Ms Lee said the maps were gathered through a network of people over several years.

The finished work used pulping, pasting and paper string to turn the museum material into cultural objects.

"I've held on to these maps for quite a few years and I had always known that it was going to be a Telstra work," Ms Lee said.

"I didn't want to use it for anything else."

Ms Lee's broader practice often works with old books and dictionaries of Aboriginal words, especially texts that fail to say where language comes from.

Paper carries meaning in her practice, but it's also connected to her background in print design and childhood craft.

Ms Lee said her father taught her about culture and Larrakia ways, while her mother helped shape her love of making things by hand.

"I remembered that I had all of these skills from childhood," Ms Lee said.

"For me to be able to incorporate something from my mum as well and her love of craft and homemade, I think was the perfect combination."

Ms Lee hopes audiences see the humour in the work, as well as the craft behind it.

"I worked quite hard on getting them to scale and to represent a Larrakia-style conical dilly bag," Ms Lee said.

"There's a lot of craft skill, but ultimately this is one of the most fun and funny works I think I've made."

The 2026 Telstra NATSIAA exhibition opened at MAGNT on June 27.

The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on August 7, with artists sharing in a total prize pool of $190,000, including the $100,000 Telstra Art Award.