A CEREMONIAL EXPRESSION, 1994
Emily Kame Kngwarreye
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
151.0 x 91.0 cm
signed verso: Emily
inscribed with Delmore Gallery catalogue number verso: 94L005
inscribed with title and dated on label attached verso: A Ceremonial/ Expression/ December 1994
accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Delmore Gallery, Northern Territory
Commissioned by Delmore Gallery, Northern Territory
William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
Applied Chemicals Collection, Melbourne
Of My Country: Emily Kame Kngwarreye, The Applied Chemicals Collection, Bendigo Art Gallery, 1 - 30 May 1999, and touring various venues throughout Victoria and New South Wales, June 1999 - April 2000
The ceremonial process of handing on knowledge inspires a belief in all participants that ritual contributes to the continuing fertility and hardiness of life-sustaining plant species.
The dramatic gestural lines on this work relate to the body paint lines applied to the upper torso, arms and thighs. They are applied whilst the songline of the ancestors is sung stanza by stanza. At different intervals, a group of selected women dance particular stanzas on an adjacent cleared space.
The colours of the lines are an exaggerated reflection of the changing colours of the Anooralya Yam flower. Such a resourceful plant is considered very important in traditional lifestyle conditions. Ceremony is an affirmation of the spiritual power of the people of the desert. Emily believes that ritual ensures the continuing life cycle of all desert life forms, and that her knowledge is fundamental to this.
JANET HOLT
Delmore Downs, Northern Territory