Phosphoresence
2024
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on paper
Measurements
76.2 × 76.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2025
© Dhambit Munuŋgurr, courtesy of Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Dhambit Munuŋgurr’s works often refer to her own and related moiety and clan's totems. In this work, Munuŋgurr represents a secular moment. Yolŋu turtle hunters sitting dead quiet over the batpa, or reef, on moonless nights. Any
movement generates milpuṉ milpuṉ (phosphoresence). She explains that this phenomenon cannot be imagined, only experienced. It is more magical than any other experience. A turtle surfacing or swimming will reveal itself as the fairy-like glittering bursts of blue light ripple outward across the water's surface.