BIRRUNGA WIRADYURI
‘Wahluu Mulaa. Mallyan; Sacred Sky

2023
acrylic on canvas
61 x 91cm
91 x 61cm
153 x 101cm
91 x 61cm
61 x 91cm

When we agreed on ‘Place’ as the collective theme for our 2023 CCDP show I was flooded with imagery. Hardly surprising when the Cultural considerations around the importance of place underpin and inform every aspect of our day to day lives.
2022 was a year of incredible significance for we Bathurst Wiradyuri in regards to place, protection of Country and ceremony. One ceremony in particular had not been performed since before colonisation. This ceremony was performed late last year on one of our most sacred places.
This piece represents the cultural perspective from our sacred mountain, ‘Wahluu’, through our Wiradyuri lens of Lore. The vision is of other places of extreme significance that we are linked to spiritually and through our Lores. This of course includes the sky, our mountains, the valleys, creeks and mighty river, the plains and desert country, the alpine high country and our sacred spaces breath the surface of the mother, the springs, the gullies, our ochre places, Women’s places, Men’s places, Community places, sacred ceremonial places, burial places, birthing places, places of competition, celebration and Cultural business, Songlines, trade routes, initiation and mustering spaces, Sovereign spaces, healing spaces, education and well being places, places of plenty, places that are not for humans, places between worlds, places of transition and of becoming, places of remembrance and of nurture. These and many more places are present in this piece.
I’ve used five canvases in reference to our Wiradyuri Central Lore Yindyamarra – To do Slowly; To be Gentle; To Honour; To be Polite; To Respect.
I’ve also included our beloved Senior Loreman, Elder, Knowledge Holder, Uncle Mallyan who went home to the Old People late last year.