Bima
Artist:
Tess Tipungwuti
(Indigenous Australian, born 1955)
Place made:Australia
General region:Oceania
Date: 2006
Dimensions:
h. 57 in. (144.8 cm); w. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of the Lam Family
Object number: 2016.14.37
Copyright: © Tess Tipunguriti
Provenance: May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam, by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016
Label Text
Bima is one of the main ancestors in the narrative concerning the first death, which made the Tiwi people mortal. Bima had neglected Jinaini, her infant son, leaving him in the sun, and he died. Bima was inconsolable and during her mourning, she turned into a curlew (a bird indigenous to Australia). Even today the cries of the curlew represent grief and mourning for the Tiwi people.
(Exhibition label, 2017)
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
