Alalgura-emu country
Alalgura-emu country
Artist
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
Australian, c.1910-1996
DateJune 1990
Dimensions150 x 120 cm
MediumPolymer synthetic paint on canvas
ClassificationPaintings
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott
Object number
2016.10
On View
Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 09
Collections
Label TextTo a non-Aboriginal Australian viewer, the layers of intricate dots that cover Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s Alalgura—Emu Country may seem like an arresting abstract composition, perhaps even evoking the Abstract Expressionist paintings of Jackson Pollock. However, for Kngwarreye, who was a respected ceremonial leader in her desert country of origin, Alhalker in Australia’s Northern Territory, this organic grid is a distinct visual language with a deep symbolic cultural meaning. If you look closely you may be able to find the meandering lines hidden under the layers of painted dots. These lines represent the spreading of roots from a yam plant, which is a staple of the desert diet. The roots are also a metaphor for the spiritual forces placed in the ground by the ancestral Emu beings, spiritual figures who represent the original form of the large, flightless birds of Australia.- Paintings
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