Lot 63

Maningrida Arts & Culture, Northern Territory (accompanied by a certificate of authenticity)
William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
Private collection, Melbourne

"This painting depicts a sacred site at 'Kurrurldul', an outstation of Maningrida.

The 'rarrk', or abstract crosshatching, on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called 'Djimarr'. Toady this being exists in the form of a rock, which is permanently submerged at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek. The 'Djimarr' rock in the stream at Kurrurldul is said to move around and call out in a soft hooting tone at night. Both the stone itself and the area around it are considered sacred.

The imagery represents the rock mentioned above at the bottom of Kurrurldul creek, which is the final transmutation of the dreaming ancestor 'Djimarr'. Finally, the pattern used here is also the crow design used in the sacred 'Mardayin' ceremony, which is a large regional parti-moiety ceremony now rarely conducted in central and eastern Arnhem Land."
As stated on the Maningrida Arts & Culture certificate of authenticity