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AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL ART
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"WALLABY DRINKING AT WATERHOLE"
© Jonathan Brown Kumunjara



Story: This painting tells the story of the Hair Wallabies from Ooldea in South Australia. The uneven row of ovals at the bottom of the painting are the wallabies; the strands emerging from the top of the ovals represent their long, hairy tails. This story is part of the young men's initiation ritual so much of its significance is secret. The two wriggly line loops above the wallabies are the paths taken to the ceremonial ground. The circles at the top and slightly left of center are waterholes they visited, connected by black lines that show their passage from one to the other. Representations of local flora and fauna make up the background. The small flowers that dot the painting are 'Bush Passion Fruit', also called 'Bush Pineapple'. The small radiating circles of lines are spinifex grass.
Artist information: Jonathan Brown Kumunjara began painting in the mid 1980's. The traditional stories on which he based his early work were taught to him by his father. His father's death is attributed to the nuclear tests that took place in Maralinga. This was an area inhabited by and sacred to several Aboriginal groups until they were forced to other areas by British/Australian appropriation of the land in the 1950's. More recently, Jonathan Brown's work has become political, dealing with subjects like the Maralinga tests. 

Artist: 	Jonathan Brown Kumunjara 
Title: 		WALLABY DRINKING AT WATERHOLE 
Country: 	Yalata, South Australia 
Size: 		4' x 3' 
Medium: 	Acrylic on canvas 
Date Painted: 	1986 (approx)



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WALLABY DRINKING AT WATERHOLE © , Jonathan Brown Kumunjara, COPYRIGHT PROTECTED BY INTERNATIONAL LAW - Photo Credits Tony Cunha - Collection provided by The Active Link - All Rights Reserved. OneWorld Magazine is Hosted By The EnviroLink Network - Produced by webStories,Inc. - Copyright © 1996, webStories, Inc. All Rights Reserved.