Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land.
In this design she has depicted man-djarduk (red bush apples) – a sweet, crisp bush food that is a favourite to collect.
Man-djarduk fruits in kurrung and kunumeleng seasons, the build-up and first rains seasons.
Deborah Wurrkidj is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land.
In this design she has depicted man-djarduk (red bush apples) – a sweet, crisp bush food that is a favourite to collect.
Man-djarduk fruits in kurrung and kunumeleng seasons, the build-up and first rains seasons.
Jennifer Wurrkidj
TITLE Lorrkon (Hollow funeral log)
YEAR 2010
MEDIUM Screen print
DETAILS 2 screen design, 1000 x 420mm
Before, a long time ago, when old people would die they would put their bones inside the lorrkkon and leave it outside. It is part of ceremony. The old people remembering and thinking about that person who passed away, there is lots of talking about where that lorrkkon needs to go.
My father, James Iyuna, taught me how to paint, to paint that rarrk. That memory is from him, he taught my sister Deborah and me. This story is from him, this design. When he was painting and drawing we would watch and we would learn.
Jennifer Wurrkidj
Jennifer is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. She has depicted lorrkkon (hollow-log coffin), kun-karninj (digging stick) and mandjabu (fishtrap) in this design.
The Lorrkkon or hollow-log coffin ceremony is the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony might take place many years after the person has died, and involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log that is decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it slowly decays over many years.
The lorrkkon (hollow-log coffin) is made from the trunk of a termite-hollowed manbuluduk (stringybark tree, Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems. The western Arnhem Land version of the Lorrkkon ceremony involves the singing of sacred songs to the accompaniment of karlikarli, a pair of sacred boomerangs used as rhythm instruments. During the final evening of the ceremony, dancers decorate themselves with kapok down or, today, cotton wool, and conduct much of the final segments of the ceremony in the secrecy of a restricted men’s camp. The complete ceremony may stretch over a period of two weeks, but on the last night the bones of the deceased, which have been kept in a bark container, or today wrapped in cloth and kept in a suitcase, are taken out, and are painted with red ochre and placed inside the hollow-log coffin.
At first light on the final morning of the Lorrkkon ceremony, the men appear, coming out of their secret bush camp carrying the lorrkkon towards the women’s camp. The two groups call to each other using distinct ceremonial calls. The women have prepared a hole for the lorrkkon to be placed into, and when it is stood upright, women in particular kinship relationships to the deceased dance around the lorrkkon in a jumping/shuffling motion. It is then often covered with a tarpaulin and left to slowly decay.
Jennifer Wurrkidj
TITLE Lorrkon (Hollow funeral log)
YEAR 2010
MEDIUM Screen print
DETAILS 2 screen design, 1000 x 420mm
Before, a long time ago, when old people would die they would put their bones inside the lorrkkon and leave it outside. It is part of ceremony. The old people remembering and thinking about that person who passed away, there is lots of talking about where that lorrkkon needs to go.
My father, James Iyuna, taught me how to paint, to paint that rarrk. That memory is from him, he taught my sister Deborah and me. This story is from him, this design. When he was painting and drawing we would watch and we would learn.
Jennifer Wurrkidj
Jennifer is a Kuninjku artist from the Kurulk clan whose country lies around the outstation of Mumeka in central Arnhem Land. She has depicted lorrkkon (hollow-log coffin), kun-karninj (digging stick) and mandjabu (fishtrap) in this design.
The Lorrkkon or hollow-log coffin ceremony is the final ceremony in a sequence of mortuary rituals celebrated by the people of Arnhem Land. This ceremony might take place many years after the person has died, and involves the placing of the deceased’s bones into a hollow log that is decorated with painted clan designs and ceremonially placed into the ground where it slowly decays over many years.
The lorrkkon (hollow-log coffin) is made from the trunk of a termite-hollowed manbuluduk (stringybark tree, Eucalyptus tetradonta) and is decorated with totemic emblems. The western Arnhem Land version of the Lorrkkon ceremony involves the singing of sacred songs to the accompaniment of karlikarli, a pair of sacred boomerangs used as rhythm instruments. During the final evening of the ceremony, dancers decorate themselves with kapok down or, today, cotton wool, and conduct much of the final segments of the ceremony in the secrecy of a restricted men’s camp. The complete ceremony may stretch over a period of two weeks, but on the last night the bones of the deceased, which have been kept in a bark container, or today wrapped in cloth and kept in a suitcase, are taken out, and are painted with red ochre and placed inside the hollow-log coffin.
At first light on the final morning of the Lorrkkon ceremony, the men appear, coming out of their secret bush camp carrying the lorrkkon towards the women’s camp. The two groups call to each other using distinct ceremonial calls. The women have prepared a hole for the lorrkkon to be placed into, and when it is stood upright, women in particular kinship relationships to the deceased dance around the lorrkkon in a jumping/shuffling motion. It is then often covered with a tarpaulin and left to slowly decay.
A simple, symbolic two colour design dating back to 2010. Ruth has depicted the shapes of the rock formations in her rocky country homeland of Mankorlod.
A simple, symbolic two colour design dating back to 2010. Ruth has depicted the shapes of the rock formations in her rocky country homeland of Mankorlod.
TITLE Au-gujechiya
YEAR 2022
MEDIUM Screen print
DETAILS 2 screen
Au-gujechiya means fishtrap in the Burrarra language which is one of the traditional languages spoken in the Maningrida region. Elizabeth’s homeland is Gupanga, Arnhem Land which located on a saltwater estuary, a great place for catching fish.
Elizabeth obtained permission from her djunkay to create a screen print design about a historic object traditionally used to trap fish in rivers, creeks, and estuaries.
In the early wet season, fish swim upstream for breeding in creeks and billabongs, then downstream to spend the dry season in larger rivers. The traps would be set to face the oncoming fish, with woven fencing either side. Within the mouth of the trap is a woven funnel that guides the fish in and prevents their escape. The clever design ensures that only adult fish are caught as smaller fish can escape through the weaving or even through the funnel. The fish that are caught can survive in the trap for up to two months. Once the trap is removed, the end is untied to remove the fish. This sustainable design means the trap can be used again and again.
Designed 2007
Elizabeth had a distinctive artistic style, depicting the natural world with loose, organic strokes. Her style was evident in her key designs Kun-ngol (clouds), showing the cloud formations over her floodplain country after the wet season, and the fine detail of Kun-kirh (mud ripples) depicting cracked mud in the sun during dry season. Elizabeth was close family with Janet Marawarr, Lucy Yarawanga and Raylene Bonson, leading artists at Bábbarra.
This design celebrates the grasses of Arnhem land, the spear grass, Sorghum intransthat grows in the wet season and dies off or is burnt during the dry season.
Designed 2007
Elizabeth had a distinctive artistic style, depicting the natural world with loose, organic strokes. Her style was evident in her key designs Kun-ngol (clouds), showing the cloud formations over her floodplain country after the wet season, and the fine detail of Kun-kirh (mud ripples) depicting cracked mud in the sun during dry season. Elizabeth was close family with Janet Marawarr, Lucy Yarawanga and Raylene Bonson, leading artists at Bábbarra.
This design celebrates the grasses of Arnhem land, the spear grass, Sorghum intransthat grows in the wet season and dies off or is burnt during the dry season.
Designed 2007
Elizabeth had a distinctive artistic style, depicting the natural world with loose, organic strokes. Her style was evident in her key designs Kun-ngol (clouds), showing the cloud formations over her floodplain country after the wet season, and the fine detail of Kun-kirh (mud ripples) depicting cracked mud in the sun during dry season. Elizabeth was close family with Janet Marawarr, Lucy Yarawanga and Raylene Bonson, leading artists at Bábbarra.
This design celebrates the grasses of Arnhem land, the spear grass, Sorghum intransthat grows in the wet season and dies off or is burnt during the dry season.