Dennis Nona (Kala Lagaw Ya people) 'Ubirikubiri of the Awailau Kasa' 2007

Ubirikubiri depicts an ancestral story originally from Papua New Guinea, the closest neighbours of the Torres Strait Islands. The story involves the Mai Kusi River on the west coast of Papua New Guinea, and Ubirikubiri, the crocodile. The warrior figure lying prone on Ubirikubiri’s reptilian back was killed in retribution for maltreating the crocodile. The intricate carving on the sculpture relates various aspects of the story and is a masterly development of Nona’s skill as a printmaker, evident in the near-biblical creation narrative represented in the impressive 6-metre-long linocut Yarwarr 2007.