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West Aussie art on Paris rooftop

The rooftop of a Parisian museum will become home to an enormous art piece by leading Aboriginal artist Lena Nyadbi.

The critically acclaimed Musee du quai Branly has commissioned an artwork of nearly 700sqm in size, designed to be seen from the Eiffel Tower and on Google Earth.

In a unique partnership between the Australia Council for the Arts, the museum, and the Harold Mitchell Foundation, Nyadbi was commissioned to create the massive piece specifically for the museum's rooftop terrace.

The work - Dayiwul Lirlmim or Barramundi Scales - will be unveiled on June 6 and is a giant rendering of a new work by Nyadbi.

The original artwork will also go on display at the Paris museum.

Both works are inspired by Nyadbi's mother's land in Dayiwul country in WA.

Rupert Myer, chairman of the Australia Council, said the new work was a powerful example of indigenous art.

"This is an historic opportunity to highlight and promote indigenous Australian art and cultures to a global audience in Paris," Mr Myer said.

Nyadbi, a Gija woman of Nyawurru skin, was born around 1936 in WA's East Kimberley region and began making art in 1998 with handmade paints using natural ochre and charcoal from Gija country.

The Paris installation will coincide with a major new exhibition of Kimberley artists from the Warmun Art Centre at the Australian Embassy in Paris, which will also open on June 6.

Dayiwul Lirlmim or Barramundi Scales. Picture: National Gallery of Australia