Minhala, the freshwater tortoise
1969
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark
Measurements
95.8 × 46.0 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of the Utah Foundation, Fellow, 1990
© Gawirrin Gumana, courtesy of Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Centre, Yirrkala
Gallery location
Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
Gawirrin Gumana was the longest-living painter who contributed to the Yirrkala Church panels. Painted between 1962 and 1963, the Yirrkala Church panels are a monumental manifestation of Yolŋu resistance; for decades the collaborative paintings rotted in the back of a church, but they are now on display in Yirrkala. The panels depict Yolŋu stories of place and cultural narrative, illustrating the presence of cultural activity that predates religious intervention by 65,000 years. For over forty years, Gumana painted both within and outside of ceremonial contexts, working at the intersection of Yolŋu culture and Western contexts such as the Uniting Church, where he was a minister. In this early work from 1969, Gumana depicts Minhala, the freshwater tortoise, a story which his father, Birrikitji (c. 1898–1983), was responsible for.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Yirrkala, Northern Territory
Accession Number
O.26-1990
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation