Karina Coombes

This is Karina’s little Sawfish/Tiwi Amputee painting. The artist has depicted a quirky old Tiwi story about a man hunting in the shallows whose leg is completely severed by the beak of a sawfish (jirtaka). He is able to make it back to camp with his now amputated leg. His family and friends decide they should have a ceremony for the now lifeless leg. So it is then buried and everyone dances and sings for the man’s leg. Included in the ceremony is the now one legged man – who also dances for his lost limb! The centre triangle is the severed leg and the outside 2 are part of the sawfish beak.