Girndi (Bush Plum)
2003
Janangoo Butcher Cherel
Australian Aboriginal, Gooniyandi people, Fitzroy Crossing, Kimberley, Western Australia, 1918 - 2009
This is a still life painting. Four plums stand ready for inspection to determine which is the sweetest or the most medicinal. Differing colors suggest a chance to observe the plums closely and recognize the ripening that takes time after the monsoonal rains of the Kimberley wet season. Butcher Cherel’s inclination to study plant foods—presenting them in cross-section—relates to his role as a teacher who was concerned with recognition of the location, seasons, curative and nutritional value of bush foods.
--Pam McClusky, Curator of African and Oceanic Art, 2012
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
17 11/16 x 39 3/8 in. (45 x 100 cm)
Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2019.20.2
Provenance: [Raft Art Space, Alice Springs, Australia]; purchased by Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2003
Photo: iocolor, Seattle