Lot 87

The Artist
The Collection of Sandra Le Brun Holmes
Thence by descent

"In the Dreaming time the hollow log floated along a seaway path. Catfish, tuna and barramundi swam around it and through it. The log floated ashore near a place called Gamarguyanr. The log was found, named and used by Djalambu, a totemic being. (Name varies according to language.)

The log was used for a coffin. The bones are placed in the hollow log and it is set in a symbolic sacred well. Various totems are painted on the log, such as the diver duck Gurdupurra (Barala), Minala the catfish, Jinumburr the tuna, and the barramundi.

Panel 1: Baru the crocodile swimming with tuna, catfish and barramundi. Panel 2: Octopus and fish along their Dreaming path. Panel 3: Hollow logs with bones near the sacred well (black dot). Panel 4: Barala (Gurdupurra), the diver duck totem, rising from the well.

Through the sacred ritual interment of the bones the spirit of the dead will return to where it was first incarnated. The ceremony bestows life after death and ensures the increase of all natural species. The seaway song cycle is a story of life and immortality. The holes in the log are so that the spirit
can look out." (story on label affixed verso)