Provenance
Melville Island Catholic Mission, Northern Territory
Aboriginal Arts and Crafts Board, Sydney
Rothmans of Pall Mall Canada Collection
McIntosh Gallery, Western University, Ontario, gifted from the above, 1978
De-accessioned 2003
The Martin Rae Collection, New York, acquired from the above
Exhibited
Literature
Description
This female Tiwi ceremonial figure is strikingly decorated with jilamara (designs) on its face, breasts, torso and legs. The white ochre cross-hatching is bisected vertically by yellow ochre bands. The cloth-like garment worn beneath the waist suggests the influence of the mission, which deterred artists from depicting male and female genitalia. Running from the back of the shoulders to behind the knees is a fine chevron patterning which evokes the cicatrices (body scarification) worn by knowledgeable Tiwi men of Illortamini’s generation. Between 1974 and 1976 this work toured throughout Canada as part of the exhibition Art of Aboriginal Australia. This was the first major exhibition instigated by the Aboriginal Arts Board after its formation in 1973 and received extensive media coverage.
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