Garraparra (01.010)

Date2001

Maker Nawurapu Wunungmurra Australian Aboriginal, Yirrkala, born 1952

Label TextGarraparra is a peninsula within the artist's Blue Mud Bay homeland. At the center of this log is a sacred submerged rock called Galkama. It originated in freshwater before it passed through sea country and rested in the deep waters of the horizon. While the sea above it is full of choppy white caps, Galkama embodies an undisturbed site of profound, intrinsic knowledge. Garun, the loggerhead turtle, swims up from its depths carrying the signs of the rock on the surface of its shell. The Wunumurra family has many ceremonial responsibilities that require movement across the homeland centers of northeast Arnhemland. Nawurapu follows in the footsteps of his father who was the first Aboriginal artist to have his copyright recognized in an Australian court.

Object number2005.151

Provenance[Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Arts Centre, Yirrkala, Australia]; Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2001

Photo CreditPhoto by Paul Macapia

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Sorry Business, July 30, 2001 - January 2, 2006Published ReferencesSeattle Art Museum: Bridging Cultures, London: Scala Publishers Ltd. for the Seattle Art Museum, 2007, p. 36, illus. p. 37 Ishikawa, Chiyo, ed., A Community of Collectors: 75th Anniversary Gifts to the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 2007, illus. p. 86

Credit LineGift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum

Dimensions84 5/8 in. (215 cm)

MediumEarth pigments on hollow log