Artist's Country, Damdibu, 1984

111 x 53.5 cm

Est. $2,800 – $3,500

Hammer $2,600

Provenance: Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: During his lifetime, renowned artist, dancer, didgeridoo player and storyteller, Paddy Fordham Wainburranga embodied the living history of the people of Australia's far north. Born in the bush near Bulman, northeast of Katherine, Paddy first encountered whites at the age of eleven. Despite being best known for his history paintings, his most enduring contribution to Australian art, and the preservation of Aboriginal culture, are his narrative depictions of traditional Rembarrnga myths and legends. In barks such as this, he related how Aboriginal life began, how his people became divided into moieties and skin groups, what 'pay back' means and how the clan system works including human relationship with the spirits, with nature and with each other. Here two snakes represent the two moieties, Dhuwa and Yirritja.

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Sale 1 · Lot 25

c.1932–1938 – 2006

111 x 53.5 cm

Est. $2,800 – $3,500

Hammer $2,600

Provenance: Private Collection NSW
Artwork story: During his lifetime, renowned artist, dancer, didgeridoo player and storyteller, Paddy Fordham Wainburranga embodied the living history of the people of Australia's far north. Born in the bush near Bulman, northeast of Katherine, Paddy first encountered whites at the age of eleven. Despite being best known for his history paintings, his most enduring contribution to Australian art, and the preservation of Aboriginal culture, are his narrative depictions of traditional Rembarrnga myths and legends. In barks such as this, he related how Aboriginal life began, how his people became divided into moieties and skin groups, what 'pay back' means and how the clan system works including human relationship with the spirits, with nature and with each other. Here two snakes represent the two moieties, Dhuwa and Yirritja.