Kinga (Crocodile) This is a painting of kinga, also known as namanjwarre, the saltwater crocodile (crocodylus porosus). These animals are totems for people of Yirridjdja moiety, one of the two patrimoieties of Arnhem Land aboriginal cultures. Crocodiles are rarely killed Read more…
Rabbit Proof Fence with tuwa and waterholes “I painted the Rabbit Proof Fence and the tracks of the emus. They can’t get through because the gate is closed. If they can’t get through they go back to the sand hills. Read more…
Theradhayaw Sabi (Traditional Adoption Lore) The Torres Strait Islands, a unique cultural enclave between the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, and Papua New Guinea, boast a rich heritage deeply intertwined with distinctive traditional adoption practices. The kinship system in the Read more…
Marebu Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. She is an accomplished artist working across mediums including painting, sculpture, weaving and textile design. For this Read more…
Puntawarri “All around is sandhills and lakes on every side. You can see the grass, but the lakes are all dry. In the middle is Puntawarri waterhole. That’s the jila (snake) place, two jila. They nyupa (spouses), they darlings, man Read more…
Brolga Dreaming “When Martu paint, it’s like a map. Martu draw story on the ground and on the canvas, and all the circle and line there are the hunting areas and different waters and tracks where people used to walk, Read more…
Minyipuru (Jakulyukulyu, Seven Sisters) The term Jukurrpa is often translated in English as the ‘dreaming’, or ‘dreamtime’. It refers generally to the period in which the world was created by ancestral beings, who assumed both human and nonhuman forms. These Read more…
Spinifex “When I went back to County, I thought how beautiful the spinifex was. How the sun glazed against the spinifex. The County that I speak of is Jilukurru, my grandfather’s country.” – Kathleen Maree Sorenson Martu Country is dominated Read more…
Untitled This work portrays an area known to the artist, painted here from memory. During the pujiman (traditional, desert dwelling) era one’s survival depended on their intimate knowledge of the location of resources; thus physical elements of Country, such as Read more…