My country
2009
Medium
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Measurements
198.1 × 305.2 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, NGV Supporters of Indigenous Art, 2009
© Kuruwarriyingathi Bijarrb Paula Paul/Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
The artist has painted her Bentinck Island homeland as a flat diamond shape surrounded by a massive tracing of stone ngurruwarr (fish walls designed to trap fish and turtles as the tides fall). These constructed walls appear in the lower right of the painting. Kuruwarriyingathi represents burrkund (cicatrice) motifs – signifying the young boy’s first body scars and women’s cutting of the body in mourning – as vibrant trajectories of colour. She also references the cockleshells Kaiadilt women gather and line up in pleasing patterns in the ashes as they cook them.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Mornington Island, Queensland
Accession Number
2009.578
Department
First Nations Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation