Lot 98

The Artist
Hogarth Galleries, Sydney (accompanied by a copy of the certificate of authenticity)
Private collection, United States of America, acquired from the above in 1995

"This painting depicts a body painting design associated with the ceremony which recalls the mountain devil lizard ancestor (ankerrthe).

Body painting is an integral part of ceremonial life. Participants in corroborees paint one another with totemic designs which are relevant to mythological themes. Ceremonial subject matter can include ancestors, such as the mountain devil lizard or their spiritual journeys. Body designs can also be symbolic representations of bush foods such as the yam (a common desert tuber).

In the desert, the mountain devil lizard changes colour to blend in with the surrounding countryside."

As stated on a copy of the Hogarth Galleries Aboriginal Art Centre certificate of authenticity

© Gloria Temarre Petyarre/Copyright Agency 2024