Djang’kawu at Gumararra
2012-2013
- Medium
- earth pigments on Stringybark (Eucalyptus sp.), lorikeet feathers
- Measurements
- (a-e) 146.8 × 570.0 cm (overall)
- Place/s of Execution
- Bremer Island, Baniyala, Northern Territory; Yirrkala, Northern Territory
- Accession Number
- 2015.380.a-e
- Department
- First Nations Australia
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Indigenous Art, 2015
© Wanyubi Marika, courtesy of Buku Larrnggay Mulka - Gallery location
- Gallery 2
Ground Level, NGV Australia - About this work
-
The design of these feathered barks signifies the coastal place of Gumararra on the sunset side of the Yalangbara peninsula, which is the landing site of the Djang’kawu Sisters – the major creator beings for everything associated with the Dhuwa moiety. Mawalan is the name given to the sacred staff the Sisters use to create springs and rocks and other features in their later journeys through the land of other Dhuwa clans. The Sisters prepare for the first birth, a self-fertilised act of creation. The design shows saltwater drying off on the skin. The sun has risen on the birth of a nation: the Rirratjingu clan.
– Wanyubi Marika, 2013