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Published by CompNet Systems on

Wak Wak

This painting depicts a sacred site at ‘Kurrurldul’, an outstation south of Maningrida.

The ‘rarrk’, or abstract crosshatching, on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called ‘Djimarr’. Today this being exists in the form of a rock, which is permanently submerged at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek. The ‘Djimarr’ rock in the stream at Kurrurldul is said to move around and call out in a soft hooting tone at night. Both the stone itself and the area around it are considered sacred.

The imagery represents the rock mentioned above at the bottom of Kurrurldul creek, which is the final transmutation of the dreaming ancestor ‘Djimarr’. Finally, the pattern used here is also the crow design used in the sacred ‘Mardayin’ ceremony, which is a large regional patri-moiety ceremony now rarely conducted in central and eastern Arnhem Land.

Categories: Maningrida Arts & Culture

Name: Jennifer Wurrkidj

Language: Kuninjku

Community: Maningrida

Biography:

Jennifer Wurrkidj was born in 1973 at Maningrida in north-central Arnhem Land. Her language is Kuninjku and her moiety is Duwa.

Jennifer is a highly regarded artist who works across multiple mediums. her works often feature bush foods and food-collecting and also reference the activities of ancestor beings and the ceremonial sites of her homeland, Mumeka.

Jennifer is a daughter of Australia's most highly acclaimed bark painter, John Mawurndjul, and she is renowned, in her own right, for her bark paintings, hollow logs and carved sculptures. Jennifer's artwork has been exhibited throughout Australia and her textile art is in the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

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