Collection
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art
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Title
Badurru and Dindin
1985
Artist
Philip Gudthaykudthay
Australia
1935 -
Language groups
Galwanuk, Arnhem region, Liyagalawumurr, Arnhem region
Artist profile
About
'There is a little creek near there, called Gunyunmirringa, and in that creek is where the practice of the first hollow log ceremony took place for the Dhuwa people. They say that this is where a crow made one of these logs ... The soul is indestructible. It stays behind ... The log is thought of as the flesh, as the skin, and putting the bones inside is like putting the soul back into the body ... This is painted with a design like a body design ...'
Used as a repository for the bones of deceased people, badurru (hollow log coffins) have been created for exhibition since the 1950s. They refer potently to the spiritual universe beyond earthly existence. The shapes of the cylindrical logs lend themselves to the calm, insistent rhythm of Philip Gudthaykudthay's geometric designs, which the artist has also successfully translated onto bark paintings.
In the work 'Badurru and Dindin', 1985, equidistant black bands encircle the badurru. They define the two sections painted with distinct patterns, signifying Gudthaykudthay's clan lands at Gurryunmirringa, forested country to the east of Ramingining, Arnhem Land. The design on 'Badurru (Hollow log)', 1986, is another variation, with the rectangular grid containing unhatched diagonal stripes. Bands of yellow ochre at either end magnify its intense golden hue, 'Badurru (Hollow log)', 1986, is entirely covered in Gudthaykudthay's clan design and has a band of thick black beeswax anchoring the lower edge.
Philip Gudthaykudthay was born to the east of Ramingining in central Arnhem Land. Following the death of his parents he was adopted by a Murrungun clan family and initiated around 1949 at Gatji lagoon. Gudthaykudthay has worked as a crocodile hunter, stockman and stationhand. He now lives and paints at Ramingining, his mother's country, where he is known as 'Pussycat' (a reference to the native cat, one of his ancestral totems).
Gudthaykudthay had his first solo exhibition in 1983 at the Gary Anderson Gallery, Sydney. He has had several exhibitions in the years since then, and has also exhibited in many group shows. In 1997, Gudthaykudthay participated in printmaking workshops held in Ramingining, and his paintings were included in the exhibition, 'The Painters of the Wagilag Sisters Story 1937-1997', held at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra.
Ken Watson in 'Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia', Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 2004
© Art Gallery of New South Wales
Details
Other Titles
Badurru - hollow log/bone pole
Badurru and Mindirr (hollow log coffin and ceremonial dilly bag)
Places where the work was made
Central Arnhem Land
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Northern Territory
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Australia
Ramingining
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Central Arnhem Land
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Northern Territory
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Australia
Date
1985
Materials used
natural pigments on wood
Dimensions
169.0 x 140.0 cm coffin; 29.8 x 15.2 cm dilly bag
Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
Credit
Purchased 1985
Location
Not on display
Accession number
223.1985

Place
Where the work was made
Central Arnhem Land, Ramingining
Shown in 2 exhibitions
Exhibition history
A material thing - Objects from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 31 Aug 1998–09 Feb 1999
One sun, one moon, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 03 Jul 2007–02 Dec 2007
Referenced in 6 publications
Bibliography
Djon Mundine, One sun one moon: Aboriginal art in Australia, ‘The concept of style in Central Arnhem Land’, pg. 99-104, Sydney, 2007, 105 (colour illus.).
Yiribana: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collection, Sydney, 1994, 88 (colour illus.), 136-37, 139. plate no. 39
A material thing - objects from the collection, Sydney, 1999, 7 (colour illus.).
Paul S.C. Tacon, Aratjara: art of the first Australians, 'The Power of the Image among the Past and Present Peoples of Arnhem Land', pg. 127-196, Dusseldorf, 1993, 156 (colour illus.), 334. cat.no. 22
Ken Watson, Tradition today: Indigenous art in Australia, 'Philip Gudthaykudthay', pg. 52, Sydney, 2004, 52 (colour illus., detail), 53 (colour illus., left image).
Unknown, Philip Gudthaykudthay, Ramingining, 2006, 7 (colour illus.).