Sung Into Being

England Banggala

England Banggala’s clan lands are concentrated around three large waterholes

in the fertile Cadell River region near Gochan-jinyjirra where he lived.

Jin-gubardabiya, a primary subject for Banggala, is a freshwater ‘mermaid’ spirit taking

the form of a woven, conical pandanus mat. Jin-gubardabiya guards sites of power,

which are inextricably linked with the fertility of the clan. As Banggala explained:

Wangarr gubu-jarlapana gun-guna / Jin-guna, jin-guna, wangarr jiny-jurrmiyana /

Wolawola minyjak balma nyubi-nanga nyuburr-workiyana / Gatpa Boporlinymarr.

The Dreaming made it like that / See the conical mat lay herself down as a Dreaming /

At the place where we always held ceremonies / There at Boporlinymarr.

Banggala paints in a style typical of central Arnhem Land, where the rarrk patterning

denoting his clan affiliations is found within the central figures and motifs, rather than

in the background. Key subjects are Jin-gubardabiya (woven pandanus mat), Iddjarpun

(Rainbow Serpent), Man-borla (sedge-grass hunting bag) and features of the landscape.

England Banggala

Gun-nartpa people / Australia NT c.1925–2001

Jin-gubardabiya (Triangular pandanus skirt) at Mulilinjarra

1987

Natural pigments on stringybark / 137 x 44cm /

Terry Ngamandara Wilson

Terry Ngamandara Wilson’s country embraces different areas

of a large swamp known as Barlparnarra. Barlparnarra is the

location of many important sacred sites where the dreaming tracks

of mythological beings associated with two sisters (together

referred to as Mulurlu) converge, and ceremonies celebrating their

creative journey are held. Ngamandara Wilson responds to the lush

environment by mixing natural pigments to create shades of green,

often contrasted with strong, black charcoal lines. The pared-back

repetitive triangles — representing the sweet corm of the gulach

(the spike rush plant), which are set in rhythmic order and laid over

a finely-detailed rarrk grid – suggest the freshwater environment.

Symbolically, the triangular motif is painted on the bodies of

deceased clan members during funeral ceremonies.

This painting shows a transitional period in Ngamandara Wilson’s

practice when the abstract began to dominate, although it

still embodies all that he wanted to share publicly. His earlier

naturalistic works represented stylised paperbark and grevillea

trees, watercourses, fish and goannas, and also depict potent

spiritual forces.

Terry Ngamandara Wilson

Gun-nartpa people / Australia NT 1950–2011

Namangorongorr at Boporlinymarr

1987

Natural pigments on stringybark / 124.5 x 92.5cm /