Champ ku
2016
Medium
earth pigments and synthetic polymer paint on Milkwood (Alstonia actinophylla)
Measurements
54.4 × 16.5 × 104.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2016
© Courtesy of Wik and Kugu Arts and Crafts Centre, Aurukun
Gallery location
Gallery 3
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
This collection of sculptural works by Apelach artists from Aurukun attest to the continuation and evolution of creative and cultural practice in Cape York Peninsula – carved works have been collected from this region since as early as 1888. In Aurukun ku’, or camp dogs, play a central role in the community and hold deep cultural and spiritual significance. As physical manifestations of ancestral beings associated with a sacred site at Eeremangk, near the mouth of the Knox River in the southern part of the Wik and Kugu region, ku’ link the land with the sea: when Dingo leaves the land and enters the river or the sea, he becomes Nyiingkuchen the Freshwater Shark.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Aurukun, Queensland
Accession Number
2016.667
Department
First Nations Australia