Sacred Squid

natural earth pigments on bark

57 x 23 cm

$2,200

Provenance: Elcho Island Arts, Galiwin'ku, NT Private Collection NSW Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, Cat No. 2293
Exhibited: Bark Paintings 1930-2000, Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, July 2011
Artwork story: The Warramiri is a large seafaring Yirritja clan. The clan homeland is between Barrkira and Maṯamaṯa. However, most clan members live on Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island) and in the Miwatj region. They also own the Wessel Islands. The Warramirri people speak Djaŋu. The spiritual themes of the Warramiri are heavily connected to the sea, particularly around Dholtji (Cape Wilberforce). Their most sacred songlines revolve around the ancestral beings Marryalyan and Birrinydji, who were responsible for creating the Warramiri people. Marine animals such as the octopus, squid, crayfish, and giant clam are seen as sacred for their metamorphoses.

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1929 – 1994

natural earth pigments on bark

57 x 23 cm

$2,200

Provenance: Elcho Island Arts, Galiwin'ku, NT Private Collection NSW Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, Cat No. 2293
Exhibited: Bark Paintings 1930-2000, Cooee Aboriginal Art Gallery, NSW, July 2011
Artwork story: The Warramiri is a large seafaring Yirritja clan. The clan homeland is between Barrkira and Maṯamaṯa. However, most clan members live on Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island) and in the Miwatj region. They also own the Wessel Islands. The Warramirri people speak Djaŋu. The spiritual themes of the Warramiri are heavily connected to the sea, particularly around Dholtji (Cape Wilberforce). Their most sacred songlines revolve around the ancestral beings Marryalyan and Birrinydji, who were responsible for creating the Warramiri people. Marine animals such as the octopus, squid, crayfish, and giant clam are seen as sacred for their metamorphoses.