item details
NameSaltwater crocodile
ProductionBalang Kubarrku; artist; circa 1976; Australia
Classificationpaintings, bark paintings
Materialsbark, red ocher, pigment, yellow ocher
Materials SummaryNatural earth pigments, binder on eucalyptus bark
DimensionsOverall: 675mm (width), 1340mm (length), 5mm (depth)
Registration NumberFE006914
Credit lineGift of the Australian Government, 1976
Overview
Balang Kubarrku and Peter Marralwanga were both influenced by the rock art of their elders. In The legendary serpent/Rainbow Serpent, Kubarrku portrays Rainbow Serpent – an important ancestral figure associated with rain and waterways and a giver and a taker of life. In The Giant Water Spirit, Marralwanga depicts Yawkyawk – a mermaid-like water spirit who lives in billabongs.