FISH

Important Aboriginal + Oceanic Art
Melbourne
6 October 2010
143

Mick Kubarkku

(c.1922 - 2008)
FISH

natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

46.5 x 104.0 cm (irregular)

inscribed verso: artist's name, cat. GU56

Estimate: 
$2,000-3,000
Sold for $2,160 (inc. BP) in Auction 17 - 6 October 2010, Melbourne
Provenance

Private collection, Melbourne

Catalogue text

There are two labels attached verso which state:

'The Big White Barramundi'
'In the Dreamtime Luma Luma the giant wandered over western Arnhem Land with his companion, Ngalyod, the rainbow serpent. They were teaching law and culture to the Aboriginal people. 'They noticed that there were no fish in the inland streams, so they went to the sea near Milingimbi and brought back big barramundi, which they put into the East Alligator River and other inland streams, so that Aboriginals would always have a plentiful supply of fish.'

'In the DREAMING when the Ancestral Heroes were making the laws they could change at will from human to animal forms. For example NAGORKA the Barramundi man became Barramundi the fish. MINYABA the Turtle man became MINYABA the turtle. KANDARIK the kangaroo man became KANDARIK the kangaroo and so on...'