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Double Figure

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Double Figure

2001

Carmelina Puantuluna

Tiwi Islands, Australian Aboriginal, born 1957

Twisting and turning, this figure depicts people in disguise. Wearing false beards and painting their bodies, a person could make themselves unrecognizable to the spirits of the deceased who might want to cause them harm. Tiwi Islanders carefully observe a number of restrictions to ensure that the spirit safely departs to join other deceased relatives.
Natural pigments with bark on ironwood
55 1/8 in. (140 cm)
Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2005.157
Provenance: [Gallery Gondwana, Alice Springs, Australia]; Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2001
location
Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Sorry Business, July 30, 2001 - January 2, 2006

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.

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