Narrangem (Lightning Spirit)

ca. 1986

Australian Aboriginal, Kune/Dangbon peoples, Cadell and Tomkinson Rivers region, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, ca. 19

Narrangem is ready to create lightning storms. He has a stone axe tied to his waist so he can make thunder. Streaks of lightning that circle around to make small stones when they hit the ground are emanating from his elbows. His pose is active, suggesting his readiness to ignite the skies. Wally Mandarrk was known to paint on rock and on participants’ bodies for ceremonies, and refused to mix any synthetic binders into his paints, preferring to continue using natural resins that give his images a haunting chalky texture.

--Pam McClusky, Curator of African and Oceanic Art, 2012

Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark

35 7/16 x 18 3/4 in. (90 x 47.6 cm)

Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan

2019.20.18

Provenance: (Sotheby's, Melbourne, Australia, June 1998, lot 162); Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 1998

Photo: iocolor, Seattle

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Ancestral Modern: Australian Aboriginal Art from the Kaplan & Levi Collection, May 31 - Sept. 12, 2012 (Nashville, Tenessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, June 23 - Oct. 15, 2017; Madison, Wisconsin, Chazen Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Jan. 26 - Apr. 22, 2018; Austin, Texas, Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, June 3 - Sept. 9, 2018; Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Audain Art Museum, Oct. 5, 2018 - Jan. 28, 2019). Text by Pamela McClusky, Wally Caruana, Lisa Graziose Corrin, and Stephen Gilchrist. Cat. no. 15, pp. 82-83, reproduced.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

Learn more about Equity at SAM