Jubilee exhibition of Australian art

I I F I SH I NG SCENE 1 16 WONDJINA Artist unknown. I Artist unknown. Collected by C. P. Mountford a t Yirrkalla, 1948. 1 Collected b y the Frobenius Expedition in the West Kimberley District of Department o f the Interior (News and Information Bureau). I Western Australia, 1937-8. T w o m e n i n a canoe a r e paddling along i n search o f dugong, four o f which a r e shown. Below is a Western Australian Museum. stingray, which is burying itself i n t h e sand. T h e heavy white cross-hatching indicates t h e cloud o f According t o t h e Worrora mythology, t h e Wondjinas were t h e first me n . T h e Wondjina came s a n d raised b y t h e stingray, a n d t h e lighter areas, t h e sea. from t h e wind, wandered over t h e e a r t h making hills, rocks, waterholes, outstanding features o f the coast, etc., a n d finally w e n t t o e a r t h i n a spot where t h e picture remained behind him. H e r e his spirit for ever abides, a n d , wherever a Wondjina picture is, there t h e Wondjina continues t o send d o w n t h e rain. *12 T H E T O T E M PLACE O F T H E SERPENT Artist unknown. C A V E PAINTINGS Collected b y C. P. Mountford a t Yirrkalla, 1948. T h e following four exhibits are reproductions made on masonite panels a nd copied from Department o f the Interior (News and Information Bureau). coloured ektachromes o f cave paintings taken when C. P. Mountford discovered the T h e great serpent Bilumbira lives i n t h e jungle a n d travels across t h e sky i n t h e we t season, creating paintings in 1948. thunderstorms. Serpents a r e shown i n t h e branches o f t h e trees a n d flying across t h e sky. *17 F O U R RUNN I NG WOMEN Artist unknown. Copy ma d e by Donald Mitchell. F r om a cave a t Injaluk, near Oenpelli. 13 T H E S TORY O F T H E DAY'S H U N T By courtesy o f the Commonwealth Office o f Education. A r t i s t u n k n o w n . T h i s cave painting mu s t r a n k h i g h i n aboriginal, indeed in a n y primitive art, for its colour a n d the flowing r h y t h m o f its forms. Collected by C. P. Mountford a t Yirrkalla, 1948. Department o f the Interior (News a nd Information Bureau). A m a n , Wuijal, a n d his wife set o u t t o collect food for t h e day, t h e u p p e r panel picturing t h e m a n 18 F I VE DANC ING WOMEN with his two dogs a n d t h e lizards a n d snakes which h e caught. O n t h e lower right is Wuijal's wife, h e r digging stick i n h a n d a n d a basket strung across h e r shoulder, a n d beside h e r a r e t h e m a n y y am s Artist unknown. Copy made by Alan Warren. she found. F r om a cave a t Injaluk, near Oenpelli. By courtesy o f the Commonwealth Office o f Education. Five dancing wome n o f t h e M i m i (spirit o r fairy people) form a graceful a n d rhythmic design of slender forms which complement each other. 14 A MALAY PRAU Artist unknown. 19 F O U R HUNTERS Collected by C. P. Mountford a t Groote Eylandt, 1948. Artist unknown. Copy made by Alan Warren. Department o f the Interior (News and Information Bureau). F r om a cave a t Inagurdurwil, on the western edge o f Arnhem Land Plateau. Although it is forty years o r mo r e since t h e Malays visited Groote Eylandt, t h e aborigines have retained a n accurate memo r y o f t h e details o f their strange craft, w i t h their tripod masts, curiously By courtesy o f the Commonwealth Office o f Education. shaped hulls a n d double steering paddles. E a c h o f t h e two figures o n t h e left h a s a spear i n o n e h a n d a n d a spear thrower i n t h e other. One has a stone a x e i n his belt. T h e o n e o n the right, with a light spear, a n d with a fish nearby, is a fisher- m a n . Above is a r u n n i n g figure which bears a strong resemblance t o figures i n cave paintings in E u r o p e a n d South Africa. 15 SPEARING A KANGAROO 20 A FR I EZE O F WOM E N W I T H HANDS LINKED Artist unknown. Artist unknown. Copy made by Alan Warren. Collected by C. P. Mountford a t Oenpelli, 1948. F r om a cave a t Inagurdurwil, on the western edge o f Arnhem La nd Plateau. Department o f the Interior (News and Information Bureau). By courtesy o f the Commonwealth Office o f Education. T h e spirit m e n , the Pitari, live i n the clefts a n d gorges o f t h e A r n h e m L a n d Plateau a n d a r e never seen b y the aborigine. I n this painting o n e o f the Pitari is spearing a kangaroo. T h e kangaroo T h e aborigines considered that these figures were representations o f some o f the spirit people who is a n example o f t h e ' X - R a y ' A r t o f Western A r n h e m L a n d . I inhabit t h e rocks o f t h e plateau. 24 1 25