Mimih Spirit natural earth pigments on carved hardwood Height: 208cm
Sold for
AU$ 4,880
inc. premium
Footnotes
PROVENANCE: Executed in 2004 Maningrida Arts and Culture, Northern Territory (catalogue number 1202-04) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Pool Party Art Auction, Sydney, 3 November 2005, lot 16 Private collection
LITERATURE: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Pool Party Art Auction, Sydney: Art Gallery of New South Wales, n.p. (illus.).
Following the death of their father, Crusoe Kuningbal (1922-1984) Kurrdal and his brother, Owen Yalandja carried on the tradition of carving mimih figures. The market for these sculptures increased significantly in the 1980s and soon there was a demand for large scale examples from public institutions. Whilst Yalandja departed from the mimih subject matter and traditional red ground and began creating monumental yawk yawks in black, red and yellow, Kurrdal has predominantly maintained his father's palette and subject matter as in this example. His meticulous application of dots and elegant forms have led him to become the leading sculptor of this theme.