Summary

This item is one of our 50 Treasures: Celebrating 50 years of James Cook University.

Professor Joe Reser answers the question 'Why is this significant?'

'You can hear them'

The painting is of a sacred site, and associated creation beings, species, and ceremony in the Arafura Wetlands of Central Arnhem Land, on 'country' for which Milpurrurru was a 'manager' (djunkawo) through his mother's clan. The painting depicts two praying mantis creation beings (wangarr) integral to this important totemic site, creation event, and ceremony. The wangarr can be heard whispering and singing when passing close to this site. Further elements of the painting include the crosshatching (rarrk) on the figures and objects, the background grasses and grass seeds at the site, woven pandanus and bark containers, digging sticks, clap sticks, and dancing.

This work was commissioned by James Cook University, from one of Australia's most recognised Indigenous Arnhem Land painters, during a six-week artist's residency in 1991. An exhibition of Milpurrurru's work was held at The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in 1993, with Milpurrurru being the first living artist honoured by an individual show at the NGA. A substantial exhibition catalogue of Milpurrurru's work accompanied the exhibition, with documentation of the paintings provided by Milpurruru, his daughter, Gladys Getjpalu, and Joseph Reser.

Milpurrurru was conscious of the significance of being invited to a university as an artist in residence. This painting is significant as Milpurrurru chose to paint a particular sacred site, creation beings and event, and ceremonial re-enactment, which captured the challenges of 'development' initiatives in an Indigenous sacred landscape continually at profound risk, about which little can be revealed.

Only individuals with requisite experience, knowledge, authority, and clan lineage can paint such sacred place and creation event subject matter and clan-specific designs (mintji). The sacred place depicted in the painting lies perilously close to a bush airfield bulldozed in the late 60s, for which Milpurrurru and his father had obligatory 'looking after country' responsibility. Milpurrurru was regarded as an exceptional painter, or rarrk'wo, by his countrymen, and was a renowned marngitj (healer), seer, and clan and ceremonial leader.

Importantly, Milpurrurru's own motivation and expressed reflective purpose in this invited 'public' (garma) but 'sacred' (buka) painting was to communicate something of Arnhem Land - and Aboriginal cultural worldview and understanding - to non-Indigenous Australians, and indeed the world. His paintings captured and communicated the essence of this very different relationship to and profound responsibility for 'country' as respective 'owner' and 'manager' and influential artist.

When walking through the bush near this creation event, sacred site, and re-enactment ceremony place, the past and these wangarr are present - singing, dancing, and whispering: 'who goes there?'