Djambuwal Story (Thunderman)

Details

Artist

George Liwikang Bukulatjpi

Title

Djambuwal Story (Thunderman)

Year

c.1970

Medium

natural pigments on bark

Size

108 x 60 cm

Details

Verso: Yirritja Moiety but (Dhuwa Story) Warramiri Clan, Galiwinku, North East Arnhem Land

Stock Number

861611

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Provenance

Mary Macha, Perth, WA, 1986
Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne

Exhibited

Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art: A Myriad of Dreaming, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, 18 September - 1st October 1989 & touring: Westpac Gallery, Victorian Art Centre, 4th - 22nd October 1989; Design Warehouse,  Surry Hills, NSW, 21st November 1989 -1990

The Seasons In Australian Art, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, 20 November - 18 December 1999

Telling the Stories, From the Kimberley to Yirrkala, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, Melbourne, May - June 2012, cat. no. 6

Literature

Twentieth Century Aboriginal Art: A Myriad of Dreaming, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, 1989,p. 35 pl. 35

The Seasons In Australian Art, Lauraine Diggins Fine Art, 20 November - 18 December 1999

Further Information

The central panel shows two water spouts which are created by the thunderman, Djambuwal, when he urinates into the sea. The long appendages from his elbows are clubs (balaidt) which he bands together to make thunder. Storm clouds can be seen below these, which were formed when the thunderman threw his club at Jilgaba Hill and broke the rocks there. Two pieces of rock flew ino the sky to form the storm cloud. The soears (Iarrapan) he flexes over his head as he dances in the clouds, represented by a rainbow. The cross hatching represents water, while the slanted smaller panels from each side of the main central panel represents torrential rain falling.