Jimmy Njiminjuma (1945 - 2004)

KURRURLDUL, 2004

natural earth pigments with PVC fixative on stringybark (Eucalyptus tetradonta)

137.5 x 43.0 cm (irregular)

bears inscription verso: artist's name, medium, size and Maningrida Arts and Culture cat. 500/04

Maningrida Arts and Culture, Maningrida, Northern Territory (label attached verso)
Private collection, Melbourne

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Maningrida Arts and Culture which states:

'In this painting Njiminjuma has depicted a sacred site at Kurrurldul, his outstation south of Maningrida.

The rarrk, or abstract cross hatching, on this work represents the site at Kurrurldul which today is associated with the crow totem ancestor called Djimarr, who exists in the form of a rock which is permanently submerged at the bottom of Kurrurldul Creek. The site is also associated with one point in the journey of ngalyod, the rainbow serpent.

However, this painting depicts the site before the arrival of wakwak or ngalyod. Wakwak is often depicted in painting with circles which represent the rocks at Kurrurldul creek, while ngalyod is often represented by the kinds of plants associated with her: water lilies in particular.