Kangaroo by Dick Nguelingueli Murramurra 

Superb bark painting by esteemed Arnhem Land artist Dick Nguelingueli Murramurra of a Kangaroo

Object type: Bark Painting

Locality: Oenpelli Western Arnhem Land Northern Territory Australia

Artist: Dick Nguelingueli Murramurra

Circa: 1970

Width: 75cm X 64cm

Description:

This wonderful bark painting by esteemed Arnhem Land artist Dick Nguelingueli Murramurra is a powerful example of the x-ray style endemic to western Arnhem Land. The work portrays a kangaroo—an animal of great totemic and ecological significance—rendered in meticulous natural pigments.

The kangaroo is presented in full profile, internally exposed in traditional Arnhem Land x-ray technique but with a beautiful forward facing face. Of particular note is the finely executed paralell rarrk within the rear limbs—a complex ceremonial technique reserved for artists with the appropriate status.

Murramurra’s work of this quality is rare and sought after, particularly for its fidelity to traditional Kunwinjku design principles, coupled with the artist’s intuitive sense of form and narrative. Unlike more commercial examples, this painting retains its traditional geometry and avoids the dilution of pattern often seen in later works.

As one of the senior lawmen and ceremonial custodians of his clan, Dick Nguelingueli Murramurra was a respected cultural figure as well as an artist. His barks are, I believe undervalued especially those larger, top end, in perfect condition, flat examples.

The present work retains it’s sapling wood fixings and bush string binding but is framed and supported by an aluminium custom made wall mount frame

Price: $4500 AUD