Philip Merrdi Wilson 1982
Ngan’gikurrungurr. Peppimenarti
Merrepen Arts
Nauiyu, Daly River,
Fitzmaurice region,
Northern Territory
Fallami kurri
Mermaids and the old man
Acrylic on canvas
”The mermaid features in many legends of the Daly River Region. These stories originated in the Dreamtime. In this story the mermaids were swimming in a pool, one of them was lying on a rock enjoying the sun. One old man walked by and saw her. He speared her thigh. Then he grabbed her and took her with him. He took the spear out of her thigh and made a fire. He put his boomerang in her mouth and broke out all her sharp teeth so she could not bite him. Then he put her through smoke. After the smoking she turned into a woman with long hair. When she was a real person the man dragged her by the hair back to his camp. She lived with him for one year.
One day the man asked the woman to go to the river and get some water from a paper bark tray. She went to the river, filled the tray and left it on the embankment. The other mermaids in the pool sensed that she was there. The mermaid woman started to stomp her feet so the ground became wet with water. She cried and dived into the pool. The moment she hit the water she turned into a mermaid again. Her friends were happy to see their friend again and took her back to their home. The old man waited and waited, and when she did not return he went to look for her. He saw the tray and the bubbles rising from the water and he knew his mermaid wife was gone forever. He got very angry, trampled on the tray and cried and cried for the mermaid. Still today the mermaids can be heard at night calling to each other while collecting food.”
Yerrwirimbi
Eucalyptus or white gum tree
Acrylic on canvas
”In this painting I have depicted the bark of the Yerrwirimbi Eucalyptus or white gum tree. This is a seasonal tree as it signals the season for shark hunting. When the outer layer of the bark starts to dry up and peel off towards the end of the dry season we know that now the sharks are fat and ready to be hunted. We also use this bark together with our chewing tobacco. We burn the bark to a fine white ash. When the tobacco is rolled in this white ash it enhances the nicotine sensation. The white gum tree is also excellent firewood when we cook our meals out in the bush. I was inspired by the structure of the white gum bark when I created this painting..”
