Sailfish Gopu
Date2018
Object number00055932
NameFish carving
MediumEarth pigments on wood
DimensionsOverall: 385 × 1675 × 555 mm
Copyright© Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionCarved wooden sculpture of a Sailfish Gopu by Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr. Other names in the Yolŋu Dictionary are Markurri and Marrtkurru.HistoryHere Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr has represented Gopu or Sailfish. Other names in the Yolŋu Dictionary are Markurri and Marrtkurru.
This species is part of the Yirritja moiety songs and is the name of the famous football team Gopu which has won more premierships than any other in the North east Arnhem Football League and whose patron is Gumatj clan leader Galarrwuy Yunupiŋu. Gopuru can also mean tuna and the lyrics of the song Gopuru by Dr G. Yunupiŋu the blind Gumatj singer describe the movement of these pelagic fish through the water.
Marlin and Sailfish are an oceanic and epipelagic species usually found above the thermocline. Most densely distributed in waters close to the coasts and islands. Large schools and undergoes spawning migrations in the Pacific. Feeds mainly on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. They are distinguishable by the fact that a Marlin has a dorsal fin like a sail and a Sailfish has one more like a shark. The Marlin bill is shorter and round whilst the Sailfish bill is long and flat.
SignificanceIn Yolŋu law Rangga or sacred objects are never revealed and their shape can only be guessed at. It is assumed that it was the similarity of these manifestations of totems with such Rangga which caused elders to veto Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr naturalistic representations of species. He specifically disavows any sacredness for these works. They are 'just art' or 'just for fun'.
An area where Guykuḏa Munuŋgurr has been able to play with form and not attract negative attention is in his representations of fish. This work is part of a series begun in 2018. As a Homeland resident living on the coast of a vibrant sea estate which includes estuaries and coral reefs, big rivers and ocean he feeds himself and his family with his knowledge of the land. This familiarity allows him to shape these sculptures from memory not from images or life.
