Malaluba Gumana | Waterlily (Nymphaea sp.)
Clan
Gälpu
"This is Garrimala, my ngändi waŋa (my mother’s place). It is a Gälpu clan design. Only dhatam (waterlily) is all I can paint, I’m not allowed to make the deep story miny’tji—that is only for the men. "
– Malaluba Gumana
More Info
Garrimala refers to a waterhole close to Malaluba Gumana’s homeland of Gängan. Garrimala is connected to the story of the Serpents Witit and Djayjuŋ depicted in Mithinari Gurruwiwi’s paintings to the right. Wititj lives amongst the waterlilies, causing ripples or rainbows on the surface of the water. Wititj is associated with the beginning of the wet season, when square-shaped clouds begin to form and lightning strikes are common.
– Henry Skerritt
Additional Information
Decade
2019
Medium
Natural pigments on eucalyptus bark
Dimensions (IN)
84 21/32 x 39 3/8 x 4 23/32
Dimensions (CM)
215 x 100 x 12
Credit
Forthcoming acquisition. Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia. The 2017-19 Kluge-Ruhe Maḏayin Commission.
Clan
Gälpu
The homeland of the Gälpu clan is Gikal. Gikal is situated on a mangrove beach...
Location
2010
At Yirrkala, Ishmael Marika was appointed creative director of the Mulka Project in 2010. Alicia...
About The Artist
Clan
Dates
1952-2020
Alternative Names
Malaluba Gumana
The daughter of Gumuk Gumana and Marratj Gurruwiwi, Malaluba Gumana began painting in 2006, becoming a prolific and successful painter of her mother’s Gälpu clan totems. She is a two-time category winner at the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, winning the bark painting prize in 2013 and the Wandjuk Marika Memorial 3D Award in 2019.