John Mawurndjul (born 1952)

NGARRT – SHORT NECKED TURTLE, 1989

natural earth pigments on eucalyptus bark

215.0 x 95.0 cm (irregular)

Maningrida Arts and Crafts, Maningrida, Northern Territory (cat. MAW147, certificate of authenticity attached verso)
Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne
The Peter and Renate Nahum Collection of Aboriginal Art, London, acquired from the above in 1989

Kunwinjku; Bark paintings by James Iyuna, John Mawurndjul and Ivan Namirikki, Deutscher Gertrude Street, Melbourne, 12 – 28 July 1989
Dreamtime: zeitgenössische Aboriginal art / The Dark and the Light, Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuberg, Austria, 18 May – 30 September 2001 (illus. in exhibition catalogue, p. 62)
Rarrk – John Mawurndjul: Journey Through Time in Northern Australia, Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland, 21 September 2005 – 29 January 2006; Sprengel Museum, Hannover, Germany, 19 February – 5 June 2006

Kaufmann, C., et al., rarrk – John Mawurndjul: Journey Through Time in Northern Australia, Crawford House Publishing Australia, Belair, South Australia, 2005, pp. 103 (illus.), 227

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Maningrida Arts and Crafts, Maningrida which states: ‘Ngarrt – Short-necked turtle at a site known as Kabarabardi. It’s a female turtle shown with its egg, living inside the water at this place. Also shown is a plant growing in the water which is like a pandanus. It is known as manjimjim. It has a fruit, which is shown, which is edible by Ngarrt, but which is ‘cheeky’ or poisonous for humans.’