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Water Buffalo Skull

This commissioned Water Buffalo piece features two Wagilak clan stories along with a young man initiation ceremony body paint style. 

As a central piece on the water buffalo forehead are some gum leaves and gumnuts. This is an important sugarbag story that show when is the right time to harvest GuGu, or native bee honey. When the gumnuts are flowering, the hives are ripe for harvest.

Surrounding the sugarbag story are multiple Laar’da, or stone blades. Stones are harvested on country, and then skilfully shaped and used for hunting purposes. Young men need to learn this skill before they are allowed to hunt on their own.

Yellow and white dots around the eye sockets, as well as the black and red dots around the jaw are similar to the body paint dots placed on young men when they go through initiation ceremony.

Raark or fine line work has been completed using a handmade grass reed brush called Jarlk. Raark is in Yirritja style and consists of mutliple lines before alternating colour.

Modern acrylic paint has been used. Skull was sanded smooth before painting so the Jarlk brush could flow easily.