Gunamboorlayi country

Artist Billy Thomas (Circa 1920-2012)

Date1990s

Object number00031657

NamePrint

MediumInk on paper

DimensionsOverall: 500 x 700 mm
Sheet: 500 x 700 mm
Image: 425 x 460 mm

ClassificationsArt

Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection

Terms

DescriptionA print by Billy Thomas entitled Gunamboorlayi country. The print shows the travels of the poisonous black snake in Gunamboorlayi Country near the Canning Stock Route in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. The stark black sinuous line is simultaneously his body and the path that he travelled during the dreamtime. The snake started his journey in search of food (mungari). On arrival at the waterhole he scared a small red bird that lived there. The bird remonstrated him by flapping his wings and dancing around in circles, this place is now an important corroboree site. The circles in the print are waterholes created by the snake. The fully black circle is where he lives now.HistoryBilly Thomas (circa 1920-2012) was an exceptional artist. As a young man Thomas worked as a stockman and drover along the Canning Stock Route and as a Police Tracker based at Kalumburu and Halls Creek. He began painting in 1995 after retiring to the Mud Springs Aboriginal Community near Kununurra. He was a finalist in the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award competition every year from 1996-2000. His work has been exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions and his works are held in many state and private collections nationally and internationally.