Details of Untitled

Catalog Number : 3300
Size : 185cm x 53cm
Medium : natural earth pigment on bark
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In this painting Irenie has depicted a sacred site at "kurrurdul', her outstation south of Maningrida. The 'rarrk' or abstract crosshatching on this work represents the design for the crow totem ancestor called 'Djimarr'. Today this being exists in the forem of a rock, which is permanently submereged at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek. The 'Djimarr' rock in the stream at Kurrurldul is said to move around and call out in a soft hooting tone at night. Both the stone itself and the area around it are considered sacred. The imagery represents the rock mentioned above at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek, which is the final transmutation of the dreaming ancestor 'Djimarr'. Finally, the pattern used here is also the crow design used in the sacred 'Mardayin' ceremony, which is a large regional patri-moiety ceremony now rarely conducted in central and eastern Arnhem land.