Item X 104761 Carving. Gupapuyngu Daygurrgurr. Milingimbi, Eastern Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia. 2011

Summary

Limurru Wakiyun Gumbarrgu Ga Baladji ("we are going hunting for emu and yams") is one part of a series of four carvings by Gupapuyngu artist Alfred Walpuy at Milingimbi exhibited in an exhibition in Melbourne at Mossenson Galleries. These contemporary carvings represent the continuance and dynamism of artistic and cultural practices in central Arnhem Land. Walpuy is a son of the famous bark painter, the late Djawa Dhawirringu, who has works in the museum's collections from the 1950s.

This work is a composite wooden sculpture representing a hunter in search of emus and yams. The emu that forms part of this sculpture is registered as X104762.

Physical Description

A composite wood carving of male figure standing on one leg with the other leg crooked resting on knee. The man holds a spear in one hand and a spearthrower in the other, and the whole sculpture is attached to a wooden base. It is painted with natural pigments. Strands of black dyed fibre are attached to the head to represent the hair. An undyed plant fibre girdle is tied around the waist.