TRAVELLING EMU, 1989
EMILY KAME KNGWARREYE
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
149.5 x 122.0 cm
inscribed verso: artist's name, date and Delmore Gallery cat. C125
Private Collection, Donald Holt, Delmore Downs Station, Alice Springs
This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Delmore Gallery
This is Emily's sixteenth canvas commissioned by the Delmore Gallery. Executed in October 1989, Travelling Emu demonstrates a rigid linear structure, which appeared more frequently in later examples of her work. Even at this stage Emily indicates that she can shift stylistically with ease, as evidenced by the exploratory and individual aesthetic of Yam Tracking (see lot 2). Works prior to this link to her batik style, and works that were to follow showed a looser movement in the underlying structure.
The pink-ochre line that extends within the body of the canvas is the 'string' of the Yam plant called Atnulare, found closely packed into the earth's structure. The Yam tuber extends from this string and is located further underground and 'goes inside again'. In this instance, the yam plant is in decline, with plant material widely scattered on the ground.
ANNABEL HOLT AND JANET HOLT