MME // OAI → National Museum of Australia → Peter Brokensha and Bobby Bardjarai Nganjimirra collection
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Names
Peter Brokensha and Bobby Bardjarai Nganjimirra collection
IDs
nma-collection-39
Descriptions
The collection consists of 25 natural earth pigment on bark paintings, all painted by prominent western Arnhem Land artist and respected Nadjalama elder, Bobby Bardjarai Nganjimirra (1915-1992).
Nganjimirra's subject matter ranges from ancestral beings such as Yawk Yawk, Ngalyod the rainbow serpent and Mimih spirits, to mundane subjects such as dilly bags and digging sticks to collect cheeky yams, a long necked turtle, and a white barramundi. The paintings illustrate the symbolic connections between the realms of the everyday and the spiritual. An accompanying photograph of the artist at work is held in the Archive collection. Western Arnhem Land bark paintings are closely tied to rock paintings and are characterised by figurative representations against a background of red ochre.
This collection documents the range of subjects depicted by Nganjmirra during the early 1970s. It extends the National Museum's holdings of this important artist.
Copyright National Museum of Australia
Physical access to collection is by appointment only
Related Collections
Dates
2012-05-30 23:43
2011-06-27 10:42