RAINBOW SNAKE & ANTHROPOMORPHIC BEING

COLORS used in this artwork come from natural pigment derived from ground clay along with blends of burnt umber, burnt sienna and raw sienna. BACKGROUND is eggshell mixed with above colors.

TEXTURING is heavy and deeply embedded on the gypsum board. Edges of prepared board are uneven and irregular in shape.

SIZE is 14 ½” H x 16”W

CULTURAL INSPIRATIONS: This being with one arm and the head of a kangaroo is located at Magela Creek in western Arnhem Land. Magela Creek has numerous examples of rock paintings. The “Rainbow Snake”, as it is referred to, has crocodile-like features—notice the back and tail. Above Rainbow Snake is an anthropomorphic human being surrounded by two unidentified objects. One object is oval and the other is a crossed circle. In the original rock painting at Magela Creek, there are other rock paintings, superimposed on the Rainbow Snake, quite possibly, kangaroos. Paintings in this gallery have been superimposed over thousands of years, creating layers and layers of paintings. This is prehistoric art, considered to be predominantly ritual. Superimposition was not unusual, as over the years other generations of Aboriginals added more pictures.