Untitled
(early 1950s)
Medium
earth pigments on stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.)
Measurements
60.0 × 40.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Louise Rath through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program, 2015
© The Estate of Munggurrawuy Yunupingu, courtesy of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala
Gallery location
Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
This work represents the Fire Dreaming of the Madarrpa people associated with the saltwater clan estate of Yathikpa. Here Bäru, the ancestral crocodile, carrying and being burnt by the Ancestral fire, crossed the beach from Garrangali (Crocodile’s nest) and entered the saltwater. Ancestral hunters, on seeing dugong, took their hunting harpoon and canoe out to the sea of Yathikpa in pursuit. The hunters were lured too close to a dangerous rock by the dugong, seeking shelter. The dugong here feed on the gamata, a sea grass that is a manifestation of flames on the seabed. Fire at this sacred site boiled the water, capsizing the canoe.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
North-east Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
Accession Number
2015.253
Department
First Nations Australia