Deutscher and Hackett

This work is accompanied by a certificate from Buku-Larrngay Mulka Arts which states in part: ‘The totemic significance of fire to the Yunipingu family of Gumatji clan is paramount. It is said that the Gumatj clan language, Dhuwalandja, is itself the tongue of flame. Cuts through all artifice. It incinerates dishonesty leaving only the bones of the truth. In the initial interface between Yolgnu sacred art and the Western art world an early decision was made on the Yolgnu side to use figurative imagery to cover the miny’tji in paintings. This miny’tji is the source and record of the sacred identity of the law and the land portrayed.’