Fire and Water Ngarranggarni, 2001

natural earth pigments on canvas

90 x 120 cm

$6,250

Secure payment via Stripe. Prices in AUD.

Provenance: Warmun Art Centre, Kununurra, WA, Cat no. WAC279/01
Artwork story: This is a story about fire and water. In the Dreamtime, women were not allowed to go near water because the Brolga (woman) brought a coolamon to the waterhole and took all the water up into the sky making the land dry. The green frog (man) tried to stop her, he took a boomerang and some sharp sticks, but he couldn't get that Brolga. He thought and thought then he met up with a goanna and the goanna said bite off a bit of my tale and throw that at the Brolga. So, the frog did. He threw the end of the goanna's tail, and it hit the coolamon and all the water spilled down and watered the land again. Then two men came and asked the frog and the goanna "Did you see those two women?" "No." Those women made a fire in secret and weren't going to show it to the men. But the men found them and said "Why are you taking that fire? We can't cook our kangaroo." The women said we are not allowed to use the water because the Brolga stole it and you are not allowed to use the fire. This is my mother's country.

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1927 – 2011

natural earth pigments on canvas

90 x 120 cm

$6,250

Secure payment via Stripe. Prices in AUD.

Provenance: Warmun Art Centre, Kununurra, WA, Cat no. WAC279/01
Artwork story: This is a story about fire and water. In the Dreamtime, women were not allowed to go near water because the Brolga (woman) brought a coolamon to the waterhole and took all the water up into the sky making the land dry. The green frog (man) tried to stop her, he took a boomerang and some sharp sticks, but he couldn't get that Brolga. He thought and thought then he met up with a goanna and the goanna said bite off a bit of my tale and throw that at the Brolga. So, the frog did. He threw the end of the goanna's tail, and it hit the coolamon and all the water spilled down and watered the land again. Then two men came and asked the frog and the goanna "Did you see those two women?" "No." Those women made a fire in secret and weren't going to show it to the men. But the men found them and said "Why are you taking that fire? We can't cook our kangaroo." The women said we are not allowed to use the water because the Brolga stole it and you are not allowed to use the fire. This is my mother's country.