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exhibition
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Click to view a selection of artworks chosen by exhibition curator Hetti Perkins

 
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Highlights

Paddy Compass Namatbara was among a group of artists working on Minjilang (Croker Island) in the 1960s. In this work Namatbara has depicted a mam spirit. Mam are profane spirits of human dead, similar to namarnde and wayarra spirits. Mam are malignant and may trap and kill unwary hunters. They have claw-like hands for grabbing their victims and multiple limbs and (usually) genitalia. The dances of these spirits are enacted in the contemporary western Arnhem Land Mamurrng ceremony.


Paddy Compass Namatbara
Mam (malignant spirit), one male figure with multiple arms and legs c.1963
natural pigments on bark
63 x 49.5 cm
Founding Donors Fund, 1984
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra

 

 

 
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