작품 상세

THOMAS NANDJIWARRA AMAGULA c.1926 – 1989 Untitled (Teracucu - Dove Man), c. 1962 ochre on bark 38 x 62 cm; 52 x 75 cm (framed) PROVENANCE The Artist, painted on Groote Eylandt, NT The Massimo Campigli Collection, Italy thence by descent Private collection, Switzerland Private collection, Vic This Groote Eylandt bark painting most likely depicts Teracucu, the Dove Man, an ancestral being associated with creation and the shaping of islands across the Gulf of Carpentaria. Painted in white and red ochre against a black ground, the work's combination of figurative elements suggests it may represent an aerial view of Country, mapping both the ancestral figure and the surrounding landforms. As noted by Charles Mountford (1956), similar paintings were described as diagrammatic depictions of North-East Island, Ambraga, and the adjacent islands, all created by the Dove Man, Teracucu. Another related painting, Map of Groote Eylandt (Art Gallery of New South Wales), has been described by Margo Neale as showing "a fisherman's or hunter's intimate knowledge of the contours of his island home, using the traditional Aboriginal artist's characteristic view from above."