Wurrkadi, June 1998

natural earth pigments on bark

66 x 127 cm

$4,000

Provenance: Elcho Island Arts, Galiwin'ku, NT, Cat No. 11/1931/MAN Private Collection NSW Accompanied by an original certificate of authenticity from Elcho Island Art & Craft
Exhibited: Bark Paintings 1930 - 2000, Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, July 2011
Artwork story: This painting is my totem and I am part of Galpu clan. The painting is about the Wurrkadi (larvae of the Horned Beatle, grubs, maggots). The Wurrkadi come out from the ground because they smell the yams (yams represented by coloured crosshatching design) or food and eat it. The Birrtji Gunirr, the dots along the straight lines represent the hills and the edible clay. The grubs spit on the sand, this is shown by the white crosshatching. In the middle are black circles, these represent the bodies of the old, dead grubs and also the coals from the fire where Yolngu (aboriginal people of North-east Arnhem Land) were sitting around eating yams. The dots around them represent the young grubs.

Click to enlarge

c.1935 – 1999

natural earth pigments on bark

66 x 127 cm

$4,000

Provenance: Elcho Island Arts, Galiwin'ku, NT, Cat No. 11/1931/MAN Private Collection NSW Accompanied by an original certificate of authenticity from Elcho Island Art & Craft
Exhibited: Bark Paintings 1930 - 2000, Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, July 2011
Artwork story: This painting is my totem and I am part of Galpu clan. The painting is about the Wurrkadi (larvae of the Horned Beatle, grubs, maggots). The Wurrkadi come out from the ground because they smell the yams (yams represented by coloured crosshatching design) or food and eat it. The Birrtji Gunirr, the dots along the straight lines represent the hills and the edible clay. The grubs spit on the sand, this is shown by the white crosshatching. In the middle are black circles, these represent the bodies of the old, dead grubs and also the coals from the fire where Yolngu (aboriginal people of North-east Arnhem Land) were sitting around eating yams. The dots around them represent the young grubs.