Wirrimanu (Balgo)
1999
Three men coordinated this version of the same country that the women of Balgo depict in the painting nearby. In a similar border, the creek lines established by the Kingfisher are recorded. Knowing that people would need water, the Kingfisher gathered them together and showed them the waterholes that he created (seen as roundels). Footprints are supplemented with symbols to identify who’s who. One group carries spears, while those in the middle of the painting have fire sticks and oval bags in which they carry fire. The formal composition of this work echoes that of ceremonial ground painting.
--Pam McClusky, Curator of African and Oceanic Art, 2012
Synthetic polymer paint on canvas
71 1/4 x 116 9/16 in. (181 x 296.1 cm)
Gift of Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan
2019.20.13
Provenance: [Coo-ee Aboriginal Gallery, Sydney, Australia]; Margaret Levi and Robert Kaplan, Seattle, Washington, 2000
Photo: iocolor, Seattle