Click to enlargec.1932–1938 – 2006
- Region
- Arnhem Land
- Community
- Jarruluk
- Language group
- Rembarrnga
Balangjalngalan Spirit, 0.199
natural earth pigments on wood with stands
120 x 10 x 10 cm
$1,500
- Provenance
- Balang Crafts, Catherine NT Private Collection NSW
- Exhibited
- Black Art White Walls – The Anne and Adrian Newstead Collection (Australian regional gallery tour): Grace Cossington Smith Gallery, Wahroonga NSW, 23 January – 30 March 2014 Wagga Wagga Regional Gallery, Wagga Wagga NSW, 7 April – 12 June 2014 Walker Street Gallery, Dandenong Vic, 4 September – 8 October 2014 Moree Plains Gallery, Moree NSW, 1 December 2014 – 29 January 2015 Manning Regional Gallery, Taree NSW, 30 January – 15 March 2015 Burrinja Regional Gallery, Upwey Vic, 4 July – 28 September 2015 Brunswick Regional Gallery, Brunswick Vic, 16 October – 8 November 2015 Caloundra Regional Gallery, Caloundra Qld, 20 January – 28 February 2016 O Tempo dos Sonhos – The Time of Dreaming (Arte Aborígene Contemporânea da Austrália), Caixa Cultural Foundation & Casa Fiat de Cultura, touring 2018 – 2024: Brazil: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Curitiba, Brasília, Salvador, Recife, Uberlândia Argentina: Buenos Aires, Córdoba Uruguay: Montevideo
- Artwork story
- Paddy Fordham was born in Arnhem Land in the early 1930's and passed away 1 June 2006. His country is called Bamdibu near Bulman Station. Paddy started working as a boy around cattle yards, which finally led him into the career of a stockman for 20 years. Before this, he spent much of his time hunting and learning culture and customs from his father and uncles. He can remember being taken to sacred locations where he was told many Dreamtime stories of how customs came to be and why aboriginal people practice them. Bangjalngalans are a kind of spirit police whose mission is to make certain that humans live in alignment with the will of spirits. Balangjalngalans sometimes disguise themselves as trees. They are known to capture babies who are left alone.