Kudditji Kngwarreye

Kudditji depicts his inherited ancestral totem, the Emu. The concentric circles represent water holes where the Emu goes to drink. These are situated around the Boundary Bore region within the Utopia community. Known and instantly recognised for his rectangular background patterning in what Kudditji calls “all the colours of the Emu egg”, this work is remarkably different in colour and design, illustrating the artist’s versatility in depicting the same Dreaming. The roundels represent the sacred sites acknowledged as the camp sites of the journey of the ancestral Emu man from Boundary Bore to near Katherine – far north. When the Emu man heard the sound of the didgeridoo for the first time he was greatly frightened and turned back for home. The didgeridoo was emerging from North East Arnhem Land. The dotted areas depict the country over which he travelled. The U shapes indicate other people he met on his journey.