Aquatic Creatures
Maker
Sambo Burra Burra
(1946-2010)
Date1990
Object number00016877
NamePainting
MediumAcrylic paint, canvas
DimensionsOverall: 1780 mm, 0.5 kg
Display Dimensions: 1810 x 2255 mm
Display Dimensions: 1810 x 2255 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionAn untitled work depicting aquatic creatures by Djambu (Sambo) Burra Burra from the Roper River, Northern Territory.
The painting depicts a range of water related creatures such as fish, turtles, birds and rays.
It is likely that Sambo Burra Burra painted this work at Ngukurr on the Roper River in southern Arnhem Land.
Language:Rritarngu
Clan: BangardiHistoryBurra Burra was one of the main and most active painters at Ngukurr. His earliest work reflects the techniques of bark painting in his use of x-ray and cross-hatching but he consistently developed his style on canvas with synthetic polymer paint which gradually changed the appearance of his work.
Burra Burra lived at Ngukurr which was formerly a mission station established by the Church of England in 1908 on the Roper River and known as the Roper River Mission. The mission was replaced by a Government agency in 1968 and became known as Ngukurr, which means a place of many stones.
Burra Burra was one of the main and most active painters at Ngukurr and his earliest work reflected the techniques of bark painting in his use of cross-hatching and x-ray, with the images occasionally straying outside the perceived formal boundaries of the painting. Burra Burra consistently depicted animals, which are explained as being totems for people, occasionally weapons and, infrequently, the human figure.
His stories were often based on epic hunts and at times, memories of inter-tribal wars. Burra Burra was also deeply involved in Bangardi ceremonial life and his paintings can depict ceremonies surrounding circumcision and, as he put it, ‘dead men's songs'.
The narrative sequence of events is as important as the visual content, and a good painting - ‘a number one painting' - is one with an important story.
Burra Burra will tell a story for a painting and then for subsequent works say 'same story different people'.
Burra Burra lived and worked on an outstation, 'his country', with his wife, the painter Amy Johnstone Jirwulurr.
SignificanceDjambu Burra Burra often depicted local fauna in his works, particulaty as the land around Ngukurr is rich in wetlands and billabongs. In addition to being a noted artist, Burra Burra was also a ceremonial leader at Ngukurr.
