PHILIP GUDTHAYKUDTHAY - BANDA (LONG NECK TORTOISE)

PHILIP GUDTHAYKUDTHAY
BANDA (LONG NECK TORTOISE),  1980
121.5 x 33 cm (irregular)
natural earth pigments on bark
 
REGION
Gupulul (Ramingining Arnhem Land, NT
 
PROVENANCE
Maningrida Arts and Crafts, NT Cat No. G6
Private collection, NT
Art Leven [formerly Cooee Art], Gadigal (Sydney, NSW)
 
Adhered verso: Maningrida Arts & Crafts certificate of authenticity and label marked AG No. 8197
 
STORY
Phillip Gudthaygudthay (also known as Pussycat) was born into the Liyagalawumirri people in Central Arnhem land and was initiated at Gatji in about 1949. After the death of his parents the artist was adopted by a Murrungun family and his style of painting owes a lot to his stepbrother Mirrija who died in 1988.

Gudthaykudthay began painting in the early 1970's. His subject matter and totems included parts of the Wagilag Sisters story: the native cat from which he gets his nickname, a stylised water plant and an abstract gridded landscape (minydji) depicting Gunyunmirringa, the setting for the story of the creation of the Milky Way.
 
His work is characterised by the thinness of the paint and his use of silvery white clay and brilliant yellow ochre.