Title
Untitled
circa 1992
Artist
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Details
- Place where the work was made
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Elcho Island
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Northern Territory
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Australia
- Cultural origin
- Gandungu/ Liyagawumirr
- Date
- circa 1992
- Media category
- Bark painting
- Materials used
- natural pigments on bark
- Dimensions
- 136.0 x 50.0 cm
- Signature & date
Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased with funds provided by the Aboriginal Art Collection Benefactors 2013
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 285.2013
- Copyright
- © Estate of Mick Daypurryun/Copyright Agency
- Artist information
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Mick Daypurryun
Works in the collection
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About
Mick Daypurryun is an exceptional bark painter from Galiwinj'ku (Elcho Island) who was painting predominantly in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This work is drawn from the height of his career and is painted in the strong geometric style for which he is recognised. The work refers to the Gandungu and Liyagawumirr clans and the separation between the yirritja and dhuwa moieties.
The right of the work represents the Gandungu clan (dhuwa) while the Liyagawumirr clan (yirritja) is on the left. These clans are separated by a central channel of water in which local vegetation - mangrove leaves and fruit - is depicted. The delicate crosshatching underling this vegetation suggests the sea foam which the leaves float upon.
The Liyagawumirr clan or dhuwa moiety panel on the right contains five waterholes. The two red crosshatched waterholes represent fresh water mixed with ratjpa (red ochre). The triangle shapes around them represent different kinds of water. The white crosshatched triangle represents freshwater, the yellow crosshatched triangle represents water mixed with sea sand, and the red crosshatched triangle represents fresh water mixed with ratjpa. The white marks on the the lines connecting the waterholes are the footprints of the sand crab.
The left panel of this work represents the yirritja clan, through the rhythmic repetition of a diamond design, depicting mangrove worms in implicit detail. In the lower section this design is rendered in white representing the empty shells where the mangrove worms once lived. This colour coded language demonstrates the artist's implicit and intimate knowledge of his country.
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Places
Where the work was made
Elcho Island
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Exhibition history
Shown in 1 exhibition
Our spirits lie in the water, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Nov 2014–01 Nov 2015