We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Not Currently on Display
In annual rituals natural pigments are still used to create elaborate clan designs on boys’ bodies during their initiation into manhood, clearly seen in John Bulunbulun’s Body design – wind 2002 a small bark tied to the scale of a man’s chest and shoulders. Amongst multiple references encoded in the abstract symbols are the triangular shapes and vertical lines of dots that stand for lunggurruma ─ the north-west wind, clouds and weather patterns that signal centuries of contact between Yolngu and Macassan traders from Sulawesi in Indonesia. The colours used: galatjal (black), gamanungku (white), miku (red) and buthalak (yellow) indicate that the artist is of the Yirritja moiety and that this is his special design.
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.