Ubarr
2006
Medium
earth pigments on Stringybark
Measurements
170.0 × 70.5 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased with funds donated by Supporters and Patrons of Indigenous Art, 2006
© The Artist/Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Limited
Gallery location
Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia
About this work
Bardayal Nadjamerrek was born around 1926 at Kukkurlumurl, in the Country of the Wurrbbarn clan. Bardayal was taught to paint on rock by his father, Yanjorluk, and painted on bark from about 1960. This work is a depiction of the Ubarr ceremony, which is a major regional ceremony last performed in 1979 at Oenpelli.
The performance of an Ubarr ceremony was a major undertaking involving numerous rituals and large numbers of people who would converge from all over western Arnhem Land at designated Ubarr ceremony sites. As the ceremony had not been performed for at least a generation, and Nadjamerrek was an active participant in the proceedings, he saw this painting as an opportunity to celebrate the significance of Ubarr, simultaneously acknowledging its happening while negotiating which elements of it should remain a secret from the audience.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Kubulwarnamyo, West Arnhem Land, Northern Territory
Accession Number
2006.362
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation