Bush Potato Dreaming, 1997

111 x 40 cm

Est. $1,500 – $3,000

Hammer $1,400

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, Arnhem Land, NT, Cat No. 6465 Framed Darwin, Anne Phelan (Director), Cat No. 6051EAB Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Painted in Gamardi in 1997, Bush Potato Dreaming exemplifies Terry Mangapal’s ability to interweave ecological knowledge with ceremonial symbolism. In the centre are two marwulili bush potato plants, their tubers shown beneath the ground, their vines and leaves extending above. Surrounding these are seasonal indicators: doves (pukuk puku) whose calls mark the correct time for harvesting, yams (yukurru), fish (kanakur), and butterflies (bunba), each anchoring the painting within a broader system of seasonal and clan-based knowledge. The composition functions not only as a visual record of food sources but also as a sophisticated map of spiritual and social interconnections. By embedding clan totems and environmental cycles within a single schema, Mangapal translates ancestral knowledge into a contemporary bark painting idiom. This work stands as both an artwork and a cultural document, articulating the Gurralpa clan’s custodial relationship to Country.

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Sale 2 · Lot 32

Terry Mangapal

b. 1967

111 x 40 cm

Est. $1,500 – $3,000

Hammer $1,400

Provenance: Maningrida Arts and Culture, Arnhem Land, NT, Cat No. 6465 Framed Darwin, Anne Phelan (Director), Cat No. 6051EAB Private Collection, Albany NY
Artwork story: Painted in Gamardi in 1997, Bush Potato Dreaming exemplifies Terry Mangapal’s ability to interweave ecological knowledge with ceremonial symbolism. In the centre are two marwulili bush potato plants, their tubers shown beneath the ground, their vines and leaves extending above. Surrounding these are seasonal indicators: doves (pukuk puku) whose calls mark the correct time for harvesting, yams (yukurru), fish (kanakur), and butterflies (bunba), each anchoring the painting within a broader system of seasonal and clan-based knowledge. The composition functions not only as a visual record of food sources but also as a sophisticated map of spiritual and social interconnections. By embedding clan totems and environmental cycles within a single schema, Mangapal translates ancestral knowledge into a contemporary bark painting idiom. This work stands as both an artwork and a cultural document, articulating the Gurralpa clan’s custodial relationship to Country.