Painted Objects from Arnhem Land

A feature of Aboriginal sculpture in Arnhem Land is that objects are decorated with painted designs that serve to elaborate their ritual meaning and significance. The designs used belong to the artists through personal and clan affiliations and are painted variously on sheets of bark, on the bodies of participants in ceremony, and on ritual carvings and objects.

Two main types of objects made for sale or for ceremonial purposes are represented in this exhibition. Some objects, such as figures and Brian Yinawanga's Devil bones, 1984, are carved from solid wood, while naturally occurring hollow tree trunks and branches are used to fashion log coffins and didjeridus.

In Arnhem Land hollow log coffins¹ are used in a second burial ceremony where, at an appropriate period after the first burial, the bones of the deceased are ritually cleansed, painted and placed inside a coffin which stands erect in the centre of the ceremonial ground.

The flower-like designs on the hollow log coffin by George Milpurrurru represent the excreta of the fruit bat, a creature with which the artist has totemic associations. The designs are the property of Milpurrurru, who is the ceremonial leader of the Ganulpuyngu people. Similarly, the mullet fish depicted on Jacky Wunuwun's hollow log coffin are the artist’s totems. In this case the saw fish are totems of the deceased, and the entire coffin is shaped like a fish.

The creator² of The Spirit's Journey, 1984, has also produced a group of work relating a second burial ceremony. The hollow log coffin depicted in the painting contains the bones of the deceased and carries his totemic emblem – the cockatoo painted at the top of the coffin. The two carvings are conceptualized renditions of the same scene. The coffins are cut away to show the skeleton and bones of the dead man, whose spirit has been transformed into the cockatoo that stares at the skeleton.

The carvings of West and Central Arnhem Land, represented here by works such as Willy Djolpa's Katjangay the turtle, 1984, and Crusoe Kuningbal's unique Mimi spirit figures, conform to old techniques of sculpture and decoration. The carving used to create these pieces is a process of simple reduction that involves working into the surface of the original piece of wood.

In North-East Arnhem Land the recent introduction of metal wood-carving tools has allowed for a marked degree of elaboration and innovation in Aboriginal sculpture. These tools make it easier to carve wood away and make possible the use of negative spaces. Djambawa Marawili is one of the artists who has explored the new options, and conceptually innovative carvings such as Djet the Sea-Eagle, 1984, tell stories of transformation in three-dimensional carving, bas-relief and paint.

The combination of carving and bark painting in a single work echoes the way in which objects are used in ceremony. George Milpurrurru's Goose egg hunt, 1981, with its nest of carved eggs, and Charlie Ruakula's large Totemic jabiru, 1985, with accompanying painting, remind the viewer that various forms of art are combined in ritual.

The purpose of painting on sculpted objects is not purely decorative, painting encodes a range of ritual meanings. It defines the relationship of the artist to his or her subject and, through the religious nature of the work, to the spiritual world.