Patrick Mung Mung (born c.1948)

NANGAMAN COUNTRY, 2006

natural earth pigments on canvas

80.0 x 100.0 cm

bears inscription verso: artist's name, size and Warmun Art Centre cat. WAC 676/06

Warmun Art Centre, Turkey Creek
Private collection, Sydney

<.br>This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Warmun Art Centre which states:

‘Piccanniny Gorge (Nawkarlwin) in Purnululu (Bungle Bungles). ”That’s all that sandy hill country with green grasses. The old people used to live there in the early days like a village. Nawkarlwin is the blackfella name of this place. Nawkarlwin is the frog”. This place is known for the place where the brown frogs bury themselves in the sand. The Aboriginal people who lived and worked on Texas Downs Station would go on holiday to Purnululu (Bungle Bungles). They would dig for these frogs and cook them up on the coals. The frog has white, tasty meat like the kuntarril (fish).

Patrick Mung Mung says that many of the old people used to live in this place in the early days. They hid from the gardiya (white fella) and had a good life until two local men were tricked into showing the gardiya the secret track into the gorge. The old people were chained together and brought back to Turkey Creek. “I don’t know why they did that to them old people – they had a good life out there.”’