Waterhole in a cave
1972
- Medium
- synthetic polymer paint on composition board
- Measurements
- 61.5 × 45.4 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- Papunya, Northern Territory
- Inscription
- inscribed (diagonally) in chalk on reverse c.: 19090
- Accession Number
- O.11-1988
- Department
- First Nations Australia
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased through The Art Foundation of Victoria with the assistance of ICI Australia Ltd, Fellow, 1988
© The Artist/Licensed by Aboriginal Artists Agency Limited
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
Through the act of painting, Shorty Lungkata was also dancing and singing and embodying his spiritual identity in the land. The reiterative circles, compulsive stippling, rhythmical mark-making and linear patterning of his paintings on board suggest the kinetic dance movements and percussive rhythms of ceremony. This work represents a cleared ceremonial ground in the interior of a cave at an unnamed place. A rocky outcrop or escarpment is indicated by the layered angular designs which open out towards the left. The subtle variations in dotting and linear patterning evoke both ritual designs and the way water drains into this cave site.
- Physical description
- The concentric circles represent a waterhole in the interior of a cave. Cliff forms from a particular landscape region are indicated by the angular linear patterns. The subtle variations in dotting detail ritual ground designs on the cave floor and the way water drains in a very remote area of the artist’s country. The modified ceremonial objects on the right hand side are for general viewing.
