Title
Fish trap at Wandawuy
2013
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Yirrkala
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North-east Arnhem Land
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Northern Territory
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Australia
- Cultural origin
- Madarrpa, Yirrkala, Arnhem region
- Date
- 2013
- Media categories
- Sculpture , Woodwork , Painting
- Materials used
- natural pigments on wood
- Dimensions
- 208.0 x 13.0 x 13.0 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Tony Gilbert Bequest Fund 2013
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 108.2013
- Copyright
- © Nongirrnga Marawili courtesy Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre
- Artist information
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N Marawili
Works in the collection
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About
In recent years a strong group of female artists have emerged within the Yirrkala community. These women have been instructed in painting by their fathers and grandfathers and taught designs that have previously been the domain of men. Their works showcase the ongoing cultural inheritance and innovation in Yirrkala. Noŋgirrŋa Marawili is central to this group and spent many years assisting her husband with the cross-hatching on his works before working independantly on her own works.
Her larrakitj 'Fishtrap at Wandawuy' 2013 depict the gridded fishtrap design associated with the freshwaters of the Djapu clan at Wandawuy. This outstation is surrounded by permanent freshwater and is associated with both Mäna, the ancestral shark and Bol’ŋu the thunderman. Rains inspired by the actions of Bol’ŋu feed the rivers and fill the billabongs, resulting in a rich sea life that is a home for mäna. The grid refers to the landscape of the site, a network of billabongs surrounded by ridges and high banks and also relates to the grid of a woven fish trap set here by ancestral hunters.
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Places
Where the work was made
Yirrkala
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Exhibition history
Shown in 3 exhibitions
Nonggirrnga Marawili: and I am still here, Alcaston Gallery, Fitzroy, 05 Mar 2013–05 Apr 2013
Our spirits lie in the water, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Nov 2014–01 Nov 2015
Noŋgirrŋa Marawili: from my heart and mind, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 03 Nov 2018–24 Feb 2019