Ginger Riley Munduwalawala, circa 1937-2002, MY MOTHER'S COUNTRY
Ginger Riley Munduwalawala, circa 1937-2002, MY MOTHER'S COUNTRYEstimate $35,000 – $45,000
synthetic polymer paint on linen
bears Alcaston Gallery catalogue number AK5873 and inscribed '10/11 January 2000 Property of Beverly Knight for Ginger Riley' on the reverse
130.7 BY 131CM
Provenance:
Painted in 2000 Alcaston Gallery, Melbourne
Private collection
Cf. For paintings of the same landscape with a similar composition, see The Limmen Bight River: my mother's country, 1993, and The Limmen Bight River, Wamungu, 1997, in Judith Ryan, Ginger Riley, Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria, 1997, p.92, pl.51, and p. 102, pl.62, respectively, (illus.).
The constant subject of Munduwalawala's work was his mother's country around the Limmen Bight in south-eastern Arnhem Land and the adjacent lands, which he had the traditional right to paint as a custodian or jungkayi. It encompasses the spectacular rock formation known as the Four Archers, created by the ancestral Taipan Garimala, who changes guises and is often depicted as two snakes. Jatukal the Plains Kangaroo is depicted moving through the landscape, while on a hill on the horizon is the artist's alter-ego, Ngak Ngak the Sea Eagle.
This painting is sold with an accompanying Alcaston Gallery certificate