“Our dad’s painting is hiding, in secret place”: Reverberations of a rock painting episode in Kakadu national park, Australia
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Author(s)
Goldhahn, Joakim
Biyalwanga, Linda
May, Sally K
Blawgur, Julie
Tacon, Paul SC
Sullivan, Joanne
Johnston, Iain G
Lee, Jeffrey
Year published
2021
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This paper presents and discusses a 1972 rock painting episode at Koongarra in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. This painting, which depicts a macropod, was created by Billy Miargu when he camped at a sandstone outlier with his wife and young daughter. It was documented by two rock art scholars, George Chaloupka and Robert Edwards, but interpreted as untraditional ‘casual art’. Using a community-based approach, we re-evaluate this painting episode by (i) exploring the depicted subject matter from an emic perspective, demonstrating how it refers to the origin myth of an important ceremony, and, (ii) ...
View more >This paper presents and discusses a 1972 rock painting episode at Koongarra in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. This painting, which depicts a macropod, was created by Billy Miargu when he camped at a sandstone outlier with his wife and young daughter. It was documented by two rock art scholars, George Chaloupka and Robert Edwards, but interpreted as untraditional ‘casual art’. Using a community-based approach, we re-evaluate this painting episode by (i) exploring the depicted subject matter from an emic perspective, demonstrating how it refers to the origin myth of an important ceremony, and, (ii) through interviews with the descendants of the artist, we discuss and investigate how the 1972 painting episode is commemorated and understood today. Our findings are grounded in contemporary discussion within anthropology and archaeology that explores multivocal Indigenous voices in the interpretation of material culture in general, and rock art in particular.
View less >
View more >This paper presents and discusses a 1972 rock painting episode at Koongarra in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia. This painting, which depicts a macropod, was created by Billy Miargu when he camped at a sandstone outlier with his wife and young daughter. It was documented by two rock art scholars, George Chaloupka and Robert Edwards, but interpreted as untraditional ‘casual art’. Using a community-based approach, we re-evaluate this painting episode by (i) exploring the depicted subject matter from an emic perspective, demonstrating how it refers to the origin myth of an important ceremony, and, (ii) through interviews with the descendants of the artist, we discuss and investigate how the 1972 painting episode is commemorated and understood today. Our findings are grounded in contemporary discussion within anthropology and archaeology that explores multivocal Indigenous voices in the interpretation of material culture in general, and rock art in particular.
View less >
Journal Title
Rock Art Research
Volume
38
Issue
1
Publisher URI
Copyright Statement
© 2021 Archaeological Publications. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal's website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Visual arts
Archaeology
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander archaeology
Social Sciences
Arts & Humanities
Art
Rock art