Summary
This work was amongst a suite of 64 bark paintings that reproduced images from the rock art galleries of western Arnhem Land. The paintings were commissioned for the museum by Paddy Cahill, the pastoralist at Oenpelli at the request of Baldwin Spencer.
The kangaroo is identified as "madjiborla", a large black kangaroo found in the vicinity of Oenpelli (now Gunbalanya). The brain and tongue are shown here aswell as the oesophagus, heart, curved diaphragm and coiled intestines above which the backbone can be seen.
Physical Description
A sheet of bark (Stringybark, Eucalyptus tetrodonta) painted with natural pigments. The image depicts a barramundi and a kangaroo.
Significance
This work is an excellent example of the so-called x-ray style of painting associated with the western Arnhem Land art practice.
More Information
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Object/Medium
Painting, bark
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Maker
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Locality
Alligator River, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
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Date Produced
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Collector
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Date Collected
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Object Measurements
1310 mm (Length), 980 mm (Width), 70 mm (Height)
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Keywords
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References
[Catalogue] 2000. Bunjilaka: The Aboriginal Centre at Melbourne Museum.
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Collection Names
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Type of item
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Discipline
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Category
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Collecting Areas
Australian Indigenous - Northern Australia and Queensland and Torres Strait Islands