Ngalyod at Milmilngkan
Artist:
Seymour Wulida
(Indigenous Australian, born 1969)
Place made:Australia
General region:Oceania
Date: 2007
Dimensions:
h. 67 11/16 in. (172 cm); w. 22 13/16 in. (58 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of the Lam Family
Object number: 2016.14.1
Copyright: © Seymour Wulida
Provenance: Sold through Maningrida Arts & Culture, Maningrida, to May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam; May Lam and Dr. Dorothy Lam, by gift to San Antonio Museum of Art, 2016
Label Text
Seen coiled here is Ngalyod, or the Rainbow Serpent, a powerful, pervasive ancestral spirit primarily associated with water—an important resource, especially in the arid climates of the continent. Ngalyod has been represented in Aboriginal art for over eight thousand years, but the spirit’s characteristics vary from language group to language group. In western Arnhem Land, Ngalyod is a metaphor for the area’s transition from the dry to the wet season. The spirit also lives beneath specific waterholes, governing over sacred laws of conduct: no hunting, swimming, or fishing, for example. If sacred laws are disobeyed, the Rainbow Serpent is angered and causes natural disasters such as mass illness, violent thunderstorms, and monsoons. Ngalyod is a destructor, but also a creator, associated with rebirth and fertility ceremonies.
Seymour Wulida’s rendition of Ngalyod is painted on bark from a eucalyptus tree. The bark is peeled in a sheet from the tree, flattened over fire, and sanded before paint is applied. Bark painting is characteristic of Arnhem Land and often features a delicate crosshatching technique (or rarrk).
(Exhibition label, 2017)
Seymour Wulida’s rendition of Ngalyod is painted on bark from a eucalyptus tree. The bark is peeled in a sheet from the tree, flattened over fire, and sanded before paint is applied. Bark painting is characteristic of Arnhem Land and often features a delicate crosshatching technique (or rarrk).
(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.
